


Cast Your Soul to the Sea

by Marah_Lane



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-03-26 09:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 98,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3846607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marah_Lane/pseuds/Marah_Lane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU world in which Arya stays in Winterfell, while her father and Sansa go to Kings Landing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: This is my first attempt at a Game of Throne's fic. I have several chapters written, so hopefully I'll update often if it's well received. Remember, this is an AU, I have aged the some of the characters up several years. Some of the same events that had happened in the books and the show will happen in this... things will just happen differently. I hope you enjoy

Chapter 1

Arya sat with her septa, her sister, and her mother. She fidgeted uneasily in the horrible gown they had dressed her up in, like she was some sort of doll. And now her hair was being pulled in all sorts of directions in some sort of braid monstrosity that was no doubt of a Southron style. Arya suspected her mother thought it would show well to adopt the style, at least for the first meeting of the King and Queen. Which would probably be in a few hours, a messenger had arrived not to long ago announcing that the Royal entourage was indeed closing in on Winterfell. Arya knew that something huge must have happened, the King didn't just pick up from King's Landing to just visit the Warden of the North for on a whim. She wasn't sure what it was, nor did she care, she just knew that she was being tortured with the both the dress and the hairstyle, and she was already resenting it.

"Why do I even have to be there? It's not like the King even knows I exist." Arya said petulantly as her mother tugged on the young girls stubborn hair once again.

"Sit still Arya," admonished her mother, Catelyn, with a huff of disgust at the fact that she couldn't get girl's hair just right. "King Robert is not only our King, he is one of the oldest and dearest friends of your father. It would not be proper if our entire family was not there to welcome him him to Winterfell."

"Hmph," Arya pouted. "Fine, but I don't have to like it." Arya looked over at Sansa, giving her a murderous glare. Of course her sister would be enjoying all of the pomp and circumstance.

"I think it's going to be most exciting." Sansa gushed. "The Queen is going to be here and they say she is one of the most beautiful women in all the realm. And Prince Joffery," Arya couldn't help but roll her eyes. "And Ser Jaime I hope he's as handsome as everyone says."

"You seem more excited about the Lannisters then the King." Arya deadpanned, then her eyes brightened. "Do you think the Imp will be coming? I've always wondered if the stories of his height were true."

Catlyn looked sharply at her youngest daughter. "Arya!" She scolded with a shock. "You will speak of a proper lord in the proper way. You will address him as Lord Tyrion, and yes I do believe your father mentioned that he would be part of the Royal party." Catelyn did not seem pleased by this particular fact.

Arya made a small face but then nodded to her mother to show that would at least try to act like a proper lady.

"You are done, I will set you free as long as you promise not to make a mess of your dress and hair."

"Yes Mother," But Arya barely heard as she scrambled to the door. She couldn't be out of the door fast enough. The freedom of the outdoors called for her too loudly.

Arya tore down the halls of Winterfell as if on a mission. It was only moments before she found herself in her room. She stalked to a trunk in the corner where she hid her bow and quiver of arrows. She had every intention of doing exactly what her mother had warned her against.

There were several people milling about the practice yard, making preparations for the arrival of the royal family. Her father and Jory looked on, a bit of smile on their faces. Her brothers were standing about, attempting to fill their time before the King arrived. They watched each other take turns at sword play and practiced with their own bows and arrows, even after they cleaned up for the King. It didn't seem fair that boys got to have all the fun, and didn't have to worry about messing up their clothing. She allowed herself a bit of a pout at that. Theon was there too laughing and having fun with Jon and Robb. At the moment it was Bran who held the bow and arrow. He held it up to take aim at the target. He was still young and wasn't as proficient as the rest of the Stark boys. And as he missed two times in hitting the target, Arya smirked with a bit of mischief, he also wasn't as good as she was with a bow.

While he lifted his arms to make his next attempted, she lifted her bow and lined up the arrow. She carefully took aim at the middle circle of the target that Bran had been practicing on. He worked on calming his nerves and was just about to let his arrow fly, when Arya beat him to it. There was a thunk as the arrow she had let loose hit true to her intended target. For a moment there was silence while everyone looked to where she stood, smiling proudly to herself. Bran looked like he swallowed something awful realizing that a girl had bested him, then started after his sister, who dropped her bow and started to run away from him.

Her father and Jory started laughing at the antics of the children, even though Ned knew he should probably calm his daughter. He knew Cat would not be happy with the behavior and so close to the time their visitors would be arriving. He just couldn't bring himself to tame the young wolf now, he didn't have the heart to. He knew he let his youngest daughter get away with too much.

Jon, Theon, and Robb were also laughing in. Robb eyed his friend, Theon, pointedly. "I didn't know she could shoot like that. I have to wonder where she learned."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Theon struggled to keep the smug smile from his face, hoping to give some illusion of innocence. He was quite proud of his little student. She really learned a lot from him over the past few weeks.

"Sure you don't." Put in Jon. "She's a just a natural." His voice held a hint of teasing.

Theon rolled his eyes. "Okay, so I might have given her a lesson or two." He was downplaying his role slightly. "But you know how she is when she gets her mind set on something, she'll pester and pester until she gets whatever it is she wants."

The other two boys laughed, they knew exactly how their sister was. "Aye, we'll give you that. But my mother is not going to be pleased." Robb mentioned.

Theon's characteristic smile faded for a moment. "We don't have to mention this to the Lady Stark, do we?"

Again the boys laughed. "Don't worry your secret is safe with us." Said Jon, just as the signal sounded for the arrival of King Robert.

All three of them looked at each other with a sort of dread. They hated the formality that came with being born of noble blood. They quickly made their way over to their prearranged places. Robb stood with the rest of the Starks, Bran was there but Arya was absent. Robb gave a quickly glance at Jon and Theon with a face that said "uh oh". The other two snickered from their positions. Lady Stark gave her husband a worried glance when she couldn't account for Arya.

But for now it was too late to go looking for her. The Baratheons had arrived. Robert, who was a larger man than the Starks had been led to believe, gracelessly lumbered off his horse as Ned stepped forward to greet him. The queen's carriage came to a halt and some knights moved to help her and her youngest son and daughter down. A blond young man who everyone assumed must be Prince Joffrey looked around with a bored expression at Winterfell, and he got off the horse with a grace his father didn't have. A knight dressed is in white to designate the King's Guard stood at the horse that held the halfling who could only be Tyrion Lannister. The Knight musthave been Jaime. There were various others of the King's entourage milling about and mixing with the servants of Winterfell starting to get things in order while the nobles attended to their greetings.

It was just as Ned started the introductions that Arya decided to show up, her dress rumpled and her hair a mess. Her entrance was less then graceful. She ran right up to her place between Sansa and Bran, her face flushed and her body breathless. She looked apologetically at her father. He tried to look stern, but she could see the twinkle of laughter in his eyes, despite his frown.

Robert held the same amusement in his eyes as he watched the young girl take her place. He even seemed to be chuckling a little bit. "She reminds me of someone." He whispered to Ned. Whose expression seemed to go reminiscent of times past as he nodded his head, knowing of whom Robert had spoke.

Arya tried to give her mother her best, pitiful I'm sorry look and from the look her mother returned she could tell it hadn't worked. She winced knowing she would be in for quite the punishment when the greetings had been dispensed.

The others in the yard had their bouts of amusement too at Arya's expense. Theon and Robb exchanged knowing looks, Robb trying desperately to hide a chuckle, Theon just smiling in that special way of his. Jon had a little bit of a problem hiding his laugh and had to cover it with a cough, which also earned him a look from Catelyn. Queen Cersei raised her eyebrows in subtle disdain, at what she had no doubt thought of as the little northern barbarian girl. Jaime looked up at his little brother who was still seated upon his horse, both trading amused looks and smiles. Perhaps not all the Starks were impossibly boring like the honorable Ned.

Finally, after all the introductions were made and Arya attempted to preform a passible curtsy, King Robert asked her father if he could go pay respects to her Aunt Lyanna, who had once been betrothed to the King before she had died. Quickly after that, the party started to disband and thankfully, Catelyn was busy entertaining the Queen. This allowed Arya to be able to slip away easily without anyone realizing that she had done so. She supposed that she could spend some time in the Godswood. She doubted anyone would bother her there. She thought maybe she could practice her sword play while everyone was so busy running around trying to impress the royals.

She was stealthy enough when she wanted to be and while it had taken her longer then she would have liked to get to the armory, she arrived there unnoticed. She had already retrieved her bow from the practice yard, all she needed now was a practice sword. She had hoped the building to be mostly empty, easily dodging her way around several of Winterfell's guards. Everyone seemed to be much too interested in their guests than they were with her. However her assumption proved to be a little off. When she reached the room that held the practice swords. Someone was already there.

"I knew I would find you here, you little wolf." Theon said with a smirk as she slinked into the weapons area.

Arya frowned at the fact that she was found out, but at least it was only Theon, maybe he could be reasonable. She turned towards him with with a bit of a furrowed brow. "You're not going to say anything to anyone are you?"

He had been leaning against a table that held several bits and pieces of armor. One leg crossed over the other, his arms crossed as his eyes showed just how amusing this whole situation was. He looked like the perfect picture of relaxation. He raised an eyebrow at what she said. "I don't know, what's in it for me?"

Arya sighed realizing that of course he was going to ask for something out of all of this. She seemed to deflate a little bit knowing that she didn't have a single thing to offer the young man. "What do you want?"

He pushed himself up off the table and shrugged his shoulders. Usually this would be the moment that he would say something lewd and uncouth, but she was Lady. Well sort of, but he had to be polite, even if it didn't seem like he had to treat her like the other Ladies he had encountered. And she was still young, five and ten, to his nine and ten and it would be like saying disgusting things to one's sister. "You have nothing I want. I just came to see that you kept you out of trouble. Your mother is already going to have a fit after what you pulled when the King arrived. You're awfully lucky most of those gathered there were more amused then offended."

"I think the Queen wasn't too impressed. She looked like she swallowed a lemon." Arya's brow furrowed a little before she offered him her girlish grin.

Theon chuckled a little. "Yes, well, you know the Lannisters…" He trailed off realizing that perhaps neither of them knew what the Lannister's were like except for what gossip they had heard from other people.

There was silence for a moment, before Arya looked at him hopefully. "So, you're not going to tell?"

He looked her over, as if he was still giving it some thought. Finally with a mock sigh, "No, I don't suppose I will." He moved over to the wooden practice swords. He picked up two. "If I were to hazard a guess, I would think that you were after one of these." He tossed one over to her.

She easily picked it out of the air with a grin. "Of course, I was going to go practice out in the Godswood, I figured it would be the only place that wasn't going to be swarming with Lannisters or Baratheons."

"Well, allow me to come with you." He said testing the weight of the wood sword as if it was a real option. "I promised Robb I'd keep you out of trouble, so your Lady Mother wouldn't get herself all in a twist. I'll give you a few more pointers with the bow too. You made some mistakes earlier."

"I did not." She protested. "I hit the target!"

"You still have a lot to learn, pup." He said with a laugh. "Will Nymeria be joining us?" He asked as he wouldn't let her respond to his last comment on her performance with the bow. A good way to get her to shut up about something was to ask about her direwolf. He walked slowly towards the door.

She still looked at him incredulously. "I…" She was quite flustered, because she had thought she shot quite well, she had after all hit the target. "Fine." She huffed as she realized she would get nothing else out of him pertaining to her performance. "Yes, she'll be coming. She's probably already there. She knows where she's supposed to go. Especially since I didn't tie her up like I was supposed to so she wouldn't bother the Royal Family." She said a bit guiltily.

Theon just looked at her with a chuckle. "You really are something Arya Stark." He shook his head and then pushed open the door and took a quick look around to make sure that no one was paying close attention to their location. "Come on, I think it's safe to go out."

Arya just nodded her head then slipped past him and made her way outside. She didn't look back as she walked towards the Godswood, she knew that Theon was following her. It was weird to think that he might just be her best friend, given the fact that he was four years older. And that he was technically the ward of her father because of a rebellion that his father had tried to incur years ago. So technically he should be considered an enemy. But to her, he was just Theon, the boy who had taught her to properly use a bow and arrow. And he didn't treat her like she was a highborn lady. She had to respect him for that.


	2. Chapter 2

Arya had wanted to stay in bed a little longer then usual on the morning after the King's arrival. She, of course, knew that would not be an option, despite how tiresome the day before had been. She had spent the evening's festivities on her best behavior, after some very harsh words from her mother about how a proper lady should behave. Not to mention, her time spent with Theon practicing sword play, it had been fun, but it took a lot of her energy, and he had not gone easy on her. She had a feeling she had several bruises where he had landed some of his more forceful hits. She was comfortable in her warm bed and the thought of getting out of it displeased her, greatly.

She groaned softly as she sat up in her bed, she winced slightly and turned her attention to a sore spot on her arm. She frowned deeply as she saw the purpling bruise. She would have to get Theon back for that. Just as she was about to slip out of bed there was a knock on the door and before she could bid the visitor to enter, Septa Mordane barged into the room. "Come girl," she said in her no-nonsense way, "your Mother and Father expect you at the morning meal. I'm here to make sure you don't dawdle."

Arya muttered incoherently under her breath about needing more sleep as she slowly stood up, glaring at her Septa. The woman had an uncanny ability to make her feel like she was still a child. "Must we eat with the Royal Family, again?" She didn't want to have to be overly worried about minding her manners, it was exhausting.

The Septa gave her a withering stare, "no." Was her simple answer as she went about helping Arya ready her things. "The King and your father have already eaten with the Princes and your brothers. The Queen and her daughter have decided to break their fast within their chambers. Your Mother simply expects you to eat and ready yourself for the day. She wants you to understand that you will be spending time with Princess Myrcella and the Queen this afternoon." Septa Mordane raised her hand to stop Arya's already forming complaints. "It's no use, we are to show the royal family every courtesy and you will do the Stark name proud. And if that means sitting with the Queen and doing needlepoint you will do so. Even if you can't sew a stitch to save your life."

Arya knew it was no use, she had lost this battle before she even knew she was fighting it and reluctantly started to get herself ready for the day. But she did so as slowly as she dared, she didn't want to make it seem like she was surrendering so easily. For her part, Mordane knew Arya was being obstinate, but she said nothing of it. She was just grateful Arya wasn't being even more difficult.

"You did well last night," Mordane said grudgingly. "Managed not to offend at all." She went about helping Arya fix her hair, this time in a more northern style then the one she wore the day before. "At least not at supper."

With a frown playing upon her lips, Arya sat still while she was attended to. "Mother made it quite clear that I was already in trouble for my tardiness at greeting the King, and that if I further embarrassed the family at the feast I would forced to spend my afternoons with Sansa and Jayne for the duration of the court visit." Arya pouted slightly at the very thought of spending too much time with the two girls. "And if last night at the feast was any indication, I would have to hear about Prince Joffrey none stop." She did nothing to hide her contempt.

"Don't be to hard on her Lady Arya," Mordane said quietly, she wondered if Arya had heard any the talk that was going on around the Keep. She wouldn't be to surprised if she had been too wrapped up in spending time with Theon to have heard the news that her sister was soon to be married to the very man she thought so little of. "And he is not all bad. I have no doubt you'll get to know him a bit better while on your way to King's Landing." The Septa eyed her charge carefully, she was testing to see how much Arya knew.

For a moment Arya sat still staring at herself in the mirror that she sat in front of. The Septa had just finished with her hair. Her eyes moved from her reflection, to the reflection of Mordane. "Excuse me, but I must have misheard you. Did you say, that I would have a chance to get to know him on my way to King's Landing?"

Mordane could tell that Arya was tensing up, she knew that the young woman would not be happy about the upcoming trip. She was Northern bred through and through, and she would not be happy about being sent away from her home. She supposed she would have to handle this delicately. "Hmmm? Oh yes," best not to sugar coat it though, Arya would react how she would react, and no sweet words would change that. "The King has asked your father to be Hand."

"Hand of the King?" Arya asked dully. Her father would of course accept. He didn't know how to say no, especially to a friend who also happened to be King.

"Aye," Mordane paused a moment. "He has also agreed to the betrothal of your sister to," she paused slightly here, "Prince Joffrey."

At this, Arya momentarily forgot that there was indeed a journey to King's Landing in her future. Her nose wrinkled as if she had tasted something disgusting. "Sansa is going to be married to that… that boy?" What a terrible awful fate, to be tied down to someone you barely knew and who seemed so arrogant. Joffrey hadn't made a move to act civil or friendly to either her or her brothers since his arrival.

"Oh, I don't think Sansa thinks it's so bad." Mordane clucked.

"Of course, she wouldn't!" Arya exclaimed, "she's perfectly happy because he looks pretty! She doesn't see how he seems to turn his nose up at us."

"I suspect you're right, my lady." The Septa concluded. "But she will be well taken care of, and she is happy."

"We mustn't forget that she will also be Queen." Arya muttered.

At this Mordane chuckled, she did suppose that little fact would make Sansa a bit unbearable at first. The girl always did have a haughty streak in her, her eminent marriage to a Prince would only add fuel to the fire. "I suspect you are right. But perhaps she can calm herself while on the road, and I also have a feeling you won't let her get away with anything." Mordane betrayed an amused smile.

And there that was again, this promise of King's Landing. Arya stood up abruptly and whirled around to face the Septa. "You keep saying that! What is this about?" Her gray eyes clouded over in fury.

Her septa sat down easily on the edge of Arya's bed. However her face betrayed weariness at being the one to break the news to the youngest Stark girl. "With your Father having to go with the King to fulfill his duties as Hand, and your sister needing to learn the ways of the Southron court before her wedding, your parents have deemed it a good idea to send you along as well." She looked at the fuming girl before her with a small sigh before going on, "your mother seems to think being there might gentle your spirit. And I'll be going to look after the two of you…" She trailed off as she watched Arya storm from the bedroom, no doubt to try and find her parents. If Mordane was honest with herself, she hoped the girl would get her way, she had a feeling Arya would not survive long in the South. The North, it was in her blood, she would not adapt the way that Sansa would.

—

Arya was not hungry, and all thoughts of breakfast and food were erased from her mind when her Septa had informed her that she would be ripped away from her home, to be paraded around the Southron court. She wondered if she would be put on display to find her a suitable match, the same way that Sansa had been. Her face reddened with even deeper rage as she stormed through Winterfell looking for her parents. Of course they were no where to be found within the walls. There was really only one place to look for them. She knew her father well, and she knew he was probably feeling as overwhelmed as she was, having to entertain the Baratheons. That meant that he would seek solace in the same place that she did.

The Godswood was much the same as when she had left it the previous afternoon. It was quiet and peaceful, and even though she was angry, she stopped a moment to take in it's calming affect. She knew she had to force herself to be less confrontational if she was to talk some sense into her parents. She quietly made her way towards the pool of water where her father would most likely be. Maybe, if her mother wasn't there she would have a better time of getting her way. Her mother was always the harder one to convince when it came to something that Arya wanted.

But when she came upon the spot she was looking for, she heard the hushed voices of both her father and her mother. They seemed not to have noticed her yet, so she quickly hid behind a tree, hoping to over hear any important information they had to talk about.

"I don't like this Ned," Her mother sat beside her father on a downed tree. "Lysa speaks of…"

Ned couldn't help but let out a gentle chuckle. "Lysa just lost her husband, and doesn't know of what she speaks. She is lucky she sent that letter to you and no one else intercepted it. It is nearly treason to speak of the things she did."

"She sounded so frantic." Catelyn said quietly.

"My dear Cat." Ned said quietly as he rested his hand on Catelyn's. "I don't want to go, anymore then you want to send me. But my King calls, and I must answer."

"But if Lysa's accusations are…" Arya watched as her mother struggled with the words that she wanted to say. What was her mother so worried about?

"I will be careful." Ned said firmly.

"And the girls?" Catelyn asked.

"Sansa, I have no doubt will flourish in King's Landing." Ned replied and his wife nodded in agreement. "I believe she was born for the role we are about to thrust her in."

"It isn't her I worry about." Catelyn said, her voice showing signs of resignation. These were arguments that had already been visited, and still they hadn't brought her husband any closer to rejecting the King's offer of being Hand.

"I know it is Arya that has you so unsettled." Lord Stark agree. "Me as well. She is wild, much like Lyanna. I fear there is nothing that can tame her. I loathe to even try it. But I know that she has to be checked at some point. Perhaps being around other Ladies of the Court will help. I think sometimes she resents having to spend so much time with her sister."

"I know what you speak makes sense. She wishes to spend most of her time with Robb and Jon. Even Bran is too tame for her." Catelyn agreed.

Ned let a fond smile grace his lips. "I noticed how you left Theon out."

Catelyn furrowed her brow. She had left him out on purpose. She wished not to think about him, if she was being honest with herself she was worried about him and her daughter. "I'm afraid to acknowledge him. I guess that is something, at least she will be getting away from him."

"He is harmless." Countered Ned dismissively.

"Is he?" Catelyn asked, "just yesterday they spent hours together. Alone I might add. I don't have to remind you how inappropriate that is."

This time Ned couldn't help but let out a loud chuckle. "He kept her out of trouble, for that alone I would think you would be grateful to the boy." He held up his hand to forestall any comment she might have had. "I understand your worry Cat, but this is Arya, I doubt he sees her as anything other then a little sister and I doubt she sees him as anything more then a teacher."

"I still can't help but worrying… you know what he does in his free…" Cat started before she was interrupted by a figure that jumped out from behind a tree.

She was not one hundred percent sure what they were so worried about, when it came to Theon, she just knew that she did not like the way her mother spoke of him. And their words made it seem as if the time she spent with her friend would be taken away. So before her mother could speak any more ill of him she had to make herself known. "I don't want to go!" She simply exclaimed.

Her father looked at her with a surprised expression, one eyebrow raised. "So you know of our plans I take it? How much of our talk did you overhear?"

"Not much." Arya admitted, knowing she couldn't lie to him about spying. "And anyway, don't I get a say in what happens to me?"

"No, I don't believe you do." Catelyn put in.

"That's not fair!"

"Life rarely is, Little One." Ned said, not without a hint of amusement.

Arya looked to her father in hopes that she could appeal to him. "I will not fit in at King's Landing, you know that!"

"How do you know, if you don't at least try to." Catelyn said in a quiet tone.

Arya huffed out in frustration. "Because being around Lords and Ladies… that's not me. That's Sansa, she'll be happy there, I won't. I don't belong there."

"You would be good company for Sansa, she will know no one there at first." Her father seemed to be pleading with her. He had not looked forward to this conversation at all.

With a cant of her head Arya gave him a confused look. "Are we talking about the same girl? If anything I will only get in her way. 'Arya, you always ruin everything!'" she said in a perfect imitation of her sister. "Those are her words exactly."

Catelyn let out a small sigh, knowing that her daughter was probably correct, but she said nothing, she simply looked at her husband.

Arya, it seemed, was not out of reasons for her not to go. "Not only that, but I would only embarrass you." She knew this was true, she often embarrassed her mother, while her father seemed to be only amused by her antics. Despite being an embarrassment to her parents, she knew they did love her. "You don't have to try to deny that," she looked to her mother with reassurance. "I know I do Mother. I'm not the perfect little girl who likes dresses and tea parties. And I embarrass you enough when I'm here, it will only be worse in King's Landing. I'll be watched even more closely then I am here!"

Her parents said nothing, and she could not read their reactions. Sometimes they could be so closed off with their expressions. So she simply forged on with her argument. The next one didn't sit well with her, but she had a feeling it would go a long way. "And if I put on a poor showing there, then who would you get to marry me!" She shuddered at the very thought of being forced into a marriage to someone she didn't even like.

"I wasn't aware that would be a problem for you." Ned said, his eyes twinkling in amusement at what his daughter had said. It showed him that she desperately wanted to stay at Winterfell.

"It's not," She answered defiantly. "I just thought it might be a problem for you!"

"I must say Arya," Her father said carefully. "You have indeed given us some reasons to rethink our stance on you accompanying me to King's Landing. I shall give your arguments some thought." He waved his hand in the direction of Winterfell. "Now go, eat, I hear you have a busy day with the Queen and Princess Myrcella."

Arya frowned, knowing this was the best she was going to get from her father. She had said her piece and that was all she could do. She was being dismissed and she knew it. She stomped away from her parents a bit disheartened that she hadn't changed their minds right away.

Catelyn watched as her daughter exited the wood in the most unlady like fashion. She gave a tired sigh and turned to look at her husband. "You're going to let her get her way, aren't you, Ned." It wasn't a question.

—

Theon's day hadn't been going much better, maybe even a little worse. He had heard rumblings of the rumors of Sansa's betrothal at the feast the night before. Robb had confirmed the truth of them that morning at breakfast. He had filled Theon in on the plans that had transpired the previous day. That Lord Stark would be going to Kings Landing, and with him, Arya and Sansa. The latter would be preparing herself for her upcoming nuptials with the Prince. Once Theon realized what that meant, his heart constricted tightly. The future that he often daydreamed about, him marrying the oldest Stark girl, had in one sentence been taken away from him.

For the rest of the morning he could be seen stalking around Winterfell with a surly expression upon his face. Almost everyone that he came across gave him a wide berth. Which was just as well, he was in no mood for company. He could have chosen to be angry with Lord Stark and the King, he even cursed them under his breath when he was certain he was alone, but mostly he was upset with himself. He should never have entertained the notion of Sansa and himself. She was far too great a prize for a mere Greyjoy, was a thought that came to his mind bitterly. He was often reminded of his station within the Stark household. He loved Robb like a brother, and he even recognized that Eddard Stark raised him and treated him better then he had a right to. But in the end, he was a mere hostage, something to hold over his father's head. He should have known better.

Then there was the pang of loss that came when Robb had mentioned that Arya would also be leaving. That had surprised him. He hadn't realized that during the time they had spent together over the past few weeks a friendship had started to grow between them. He would miss the near daily archery lessons and the sense of pride he felt when she actually took his advice and improved because of it. She was not one to listen to most people, but some how Theon managed to get through to her. She actually made him feel like he could at least do something right.

These thoughts, and more, plagued him and eventually he found himself in the brothel of Winterfell's outlying town. It was a place he was familiar with, he had been frequenting it for the past few years. It was really the only place he could take out his sexual frustrations. He was certain it was an activity that the honorable Lord Stark would disapprove. Just another thing that would mar his already subpar character in the eyes of all the Starks. And at the moment he didn't care.

He was seated at one of the grungy tables that littered the small common room. He knew that one of the girls would be more then willing to accommodate him, and usually he was more then willing to pay for their services, but today he just wasn't in the mood. He thought that coming here would take his mind off what was going on back at Winterfell, but for some reason being among these people just made him feel worse about himself.

Theon was still wallowing, when a few moments later the door to the brothel burst open and the frame was filled with Jaime Lannister. The tall man looked around the room with a bored expression. When his eyes reached Theon, he raised an eyebrow and there was an amused half smile playing upon his lips. Theon had the distinct impression that the man was laughing at him. That just made Theon's mood even darker, and as Ser Jaime made his way to where he sat, Theon just glared at him.

Jaime ignored Theon's mood and simply asked in a bored voice. "Have you seen my brother? I figured this would be the only place to find him."

Theon should have figured that would be the reason for Jaime being there, it wasn't as if he had expected the man to be there for his own urges. However, he didn't feel like talking to him so he simply nodded his head in the affirmative. He had seen the Imp only an hour earlier make his way to one of the private rooms with one of the girls. It had been Ros, one of Theon's favorites. Maybe that was why he wasn't so keen on getting a room of his own, the girl he preferred was already engaged elsewhere. That seemed to be happening to him a lot lately.

Jaime looked at him expectantly, a trace of annoyance in his eyes. "Could you perhaps elaborate and tell me where I might find him?"

Theon gave him a glare that might have made a lesser man run in the opposite direction. But Jaime had faced down men that were far greater than Theon Greyjoy and was not intimidated. When Theon realized that Jaime wasn't leaving he gave a frustrated sigh and motioned to the rickety stairs near the back. "He went up there about an hour ago. If the stories of his stamina are true at all, I doubt he won't be done for awhile yet." His tone portraying anything but friendliness.

With a chuckle Jaime clapped Theon on the shoulder, "of that I have no doubt. But I have to collect him as we have yet another feast to enjoy at the Stark's expense." He looked pointedly around the room where several girls seemed to be lounging around, just waiting for someone to pay for their services. "Now, will you be needing any of these girls before you have to make your way back to Winterfell?"

With a glare at Jaime, Theon shook his head.

"Excellent!" Then Jaime turned to the remaining girls, held up small leather pouch, shook it gently to show that there was plenty of coin inside. "I have a feeling I'm going to need your help ladies. I have to talk my brother into leaving this establishment at a decent hour. Let us not see if you can entice him to do so." Then he looked back to Theon. "You should probably make your way back if you're done here. I cannot imagine you frequenting this place would endear you to your guardians. I imagine a Stark would not be caught dead in a place like this." He said in a tone that seemed to mock Theon

"I'm not a Stark," muttered Theon.

Jaime couldn't help but egg the young Greyjoy on. It seemed to be so easy. "Exactly, you just wish to be like them." And with that said motioned for the girls to follow him and started up the stairs. In his mind Jaime had already forgotten about Theon.


	3. Chapter 3

On the second night of the Royal visit there was a feast that put the one that Winterfell had the night before to shame. It was a loud, happy affair and Arya couldn't help but enjoy herself, at least at first. However as the night wore on, she saw the Queen turn up her nose at several of the Northern customs and her children didn't seem exactly impressed either. At the moment, Arya had her attention focused on the head table. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the arrogance all the Baratheons seemed to exude, except for the King. She had to force her eyes away from them, after all she didn't want to seem rude. She turned to those next to her, Bran, Theon,and Robb. Unfortunatelty, Jon had stalked off, presumably to go outside, he did not seem to be very happy. He must have been in one of his 'life's not fair' moods. She could sympathize. She would have joined him, but her mother was still upset about the day before and wouldn't be happy if she left early.

She leaned over to Robb and whispered in his ear. "How come that scrawny little Prince Joffrey doesn't come over and spend time with us. He looks bored and we're closer to his age, but he sits up there with his mother looking down on us as if we were barbarians."

That got a small, amused smile from her brother and he shrugged his shoulders. "You are a little barbarian, aren't you?" He wanted to reprimand his sister, but Robb didn't like Prince Joffrey either. There was something about him that made Robb nervous, but he knew better then to give a voice to those fears, lest someone overhear them.

"I tried talking with Princess Myrcella and Prince Tommen." Bran spoke up, he must have heard Arya, she would have to work on quieting her whispers. "They're really quiet and hard to talk to, but they seemed nice enough. I think they're probably just shy."

"Well, I suppose I should go and attend Father." Robb said with a sigh, knowing just how boring it would be to spend time with his father greeting various nobles and talking with a very drunk king. He stood up reluctantly, "Theon, make sure she stays out of trouble." He said nodded to Arya. His friend seemed to be the only one to have any clout with the girl lately.

Arya just huffed at the assumption that she would actually go looking for trouble. Robb just smiled knowingly at her. He had already stopped her from throwing food at their sister. "I know you." He gave her a wink and started to walk away. Bran, who idolized his older brother, jumped up and started to run after Robb, no doubt trying Match Robb's every move. Theon slid closer to Arya. Stealthily he pushed a cup full of Dornish wine towards her.

"Don't tell your mother." He gave her a bit of a smirk. "She'd have my cock if she knew I was letting you drink." The last bit slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself, and he winced, knowing he shouldn't talk that way to her.

She gave him a wolfish grin that was all her own. "I'll keep it quiet. And my Lady Mother would probably have a fit if she heard how you talked in front of me." She raised the cup to her lips and took a small sip. She had tasted wine before, but she also knew that they could taste different. Once she realized that this particular cup was to her liking she took a bigger gulp.

Theon chuckled at what she had said, he should have realized she really wouldn't care what sort of language he used. "Yes, well, she would be shocked to know that the words that come out of your mouth are much worse then anything that would come out of mine." He watched as she took another gulp. "Hey now, take it easy. We don't need you to be drunk now do we?"

"Lord Theon, trust me, I know my limits." She said with a smirk. "And, for the record, you have taught be everything I know about cursing."

"If that's true, it's because you're always underfoot. Half the time I don't even notice when you're skulking about. I cannot be held accountable for what I say when I think you aren't in earshot." He countered easily. He let his eyes wander about the feasting hall as their conversation dwindled.

"So, my father is to be leaving." She said quietly as she rested her elbows on the table. It was the first time she would allow herself to think about it since her talk with her parents. Of course, it would be within Theon's presence.

"So, I've heard." Theon said as his eyes wandered the room, resting for a moment on Sansa, a small pang of regret hitting his nerves. "King Robert has asked him to be the hand. I suppose most men would think that a great honor."

Arya scoffed. "I bet my father doesn't think that. It means he has to leave his family and go South." She screwed up her face as if the very thought disgusted her. "Who would want that, and he has to deal with all those Southron houses? I bet he'll be terribly bored."

"Yes, he probably will be a bit out of his depth, but you know he can't turn it down." Theon shrugged. "Kings orders and all that. Besides, the two of them are great friends. I'm sure his Grace will keep him safe."

"The old hand died." Said Arya matter of factly.

"So?" Theon said, "People die all the time. Besides wasn't Jon Arryn old? It's not like someone murdered him. Your father will be safe." He said reassuringly.

"Sansa is going too." Arya said carefully, as she looked over at the older boy's reaction. She had long thought that Theon might have been a little in love with her older sister. She often caught him looking at her longingly. Whenever she did notice Theon's attentions to Sansa, she got a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that she tried to ignore. That was a feeling she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to deal with.

"I heard that too." He said simply, quietly.

Arya again rolled her eyes, of course he would never really open himself up to her. "She's going to marry that awful Prince." She said with disgust. She really didn't like him, or the way acted. She wondered how Theon's reaction was to him.

He finally gave her a sharp look. "What are you getting at my Lady?"

Arya shrugged and took another gulp of wine. "I see the way you look at her."

"Oh do you now?" His eyes narrowed at her. "I have a feeling you don't know half of what it is you think you know."

Again Arya shrugged. "Sorry," she muttered. She had no intentions of making him upset. If anything she was trying to let him know that she was there for him if he wanted to talk. "Just trying to be a good friend."

He gave an impolite grunt at that. "What about you? I had heard Lord and Lady Stark might think it be a good idea to send their wild daughter to civilization in hopes of taming her. Is that particular rumor true?"

She scoffed at this. "As if a wolf can be tamed."

He smiled at her as if to say, 'that's my girl'. "Well, that still doesn't answer my question."

Arya shrugged. "I talked to my father about that. As much as I would love to be with him, I don't want to go South. I made a very fine case. Or at least I think I did. I told them I would only embarrass the Stark name with my unladylike ways and that it would be best if I stay with my Lady Mother, who can continue to try and bring me under control."

"Did it work?" Theon asked a bit amused.

Arya shrugged. "How am I to know? They said they'll give my words some thought. But I have a feeling my father will agree, and mother will go along with what he says."

"Aye," He said looking at her carefully. "I hope you get to stay. It would be boring without you here."

"You're just saying that because I'm the only one who can give you any kind of challange with a bow." She gave him a little shove as they sat looking at each other.

"More like I have to teach you a few more things." He said with a smirk.

"If you say so my lord." She answered with a grin. She stood up quickly managing only to make herself dizzy. He quickly stood up after her and took her elbow helping to steady her.

"I told you not to drink so fast, my lady." He said exaggerating her title.

"I'm fine." She said with a smile. "And don't call me that. I'm off to go find Jon. I want to say good night to him before I go to bed. I've had enough of this damned party." And with that, she started to walk off abruptly.

From his place at his father's side, Robb watched as his sister unsteadily walked towards the exit. He raised a curious eyebrow over at Theon, and the boy gave a guilty shrug of the shoulders. Robb shook his head, then nodded after his littlest sister, meaning that he intended for Theon to continue to look after her. Theon rolled his eyes, but walked out after her. It didn't take long to catch up to her. "Come Arya, let me help." He took her arm gently.

She gave a small sigh. "Fine, but only because I'm feeling a little unsteady on my feet. Otherwise I don't need help."

"Of course not." He stated simply. "Let's try the practice yard."

"For what." She asked a bit foggily.

He chuckled at that. "To look for Jon, it's where he likes to go when he's brooding."

"Oh right." She said with a bit of a sigh. "Lead on, my lord. Maybe the fresh air will make my head clear."

"One can only hope." Theon said a bit quietly.

"What was that?" She asked sharply.

"Nothing." He said with what he hoped was a charming smile as he led the two of them outside through one of the doors.

The walked quietly for a few moments, keeping an eye out for Jon. After a while, Arya spoke up. "Theon?"

"Hmm…"

"Are you going to miss her," she asked tentatively. "Sansa I mean, will you miss her?"

He gave her a sideways look. "I thought we dropped this subject."

She shrugged. "I guess I'm just curious. I mean, I don't know if I'm going to miss her, if they let me stay. We never got on very well."

"Yes, I know that." He said quietly. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to answer that question. He looked quickly about the immediate vicinity and thankfully he saw no one, so he stopped them from walking any further. He needed a moment to think about what it was that she was asking him. He knew he was upset about Sansa being betrothed, but if he was honest, he didn't think he was going to miss her. For all of his pining, he didn't even know her all that well. She spent her time doing thing activities her mother would approve of, so they rarely had a time to talk to one another. He cast another glance around and then pulled Arya into a shadowy corner of one of the keeps outer buildings, so they wouldn't be interrupted. He looked at her carefully. It seemed the cold air had done her some good, her eyes were clear and bright. He could see that in the little bit of moonlight that that reflected off them.

"What?" She asked as he studied her.

"I don't think I will miss Sansa."

"Really?" She asked, and gods be damned she almost looked hopeful.

What in the seven hells did that mean? And did his heart just skip a beat? Perhaps they were standing just a little too close. He tore his eyes away from hers and looked across the yard. He shook his head as if to clear it, he had just found out the woman he wanted to marry was to be betrothed to another. He could not seriously be looking at Sansa's sister in that way now.

"Really." When he said it out loud, he found that he actually believed what he said.

Was being a Stark that important so him that he would be willing to marry either of the Stark daughters? Gods knew he wasn't actually in love with Sansa, but she was beautiful enough that he could be able to live with being her husband. That is if Lord Stark had found it in his heart to give him Sansa's hand. Arya, well, she was a different matter. He got along with her better then anyone, except for maybe Robb. She was a close friend and nothing more.

He felt his hands ball into fists, nails digging into his palms, he hoped the pain would help to wake him up. He had far too much wine tonight it seemed. She was far too young for him to be even thinking this. And she was after all Arya Horseface. He brought his gaze back to her gray eyes, ready to tell her they should get a move on. But before he could say anything, for the first time in months he actually looked at her. She was fifteen, and growing up. Her face had changed it wasn't that she was beautiful in the way Sansa was, but he couldn't deny that she was striking. He could tell, even in the unkempt dress that her curves were finally coming in. He shook his head again, gods he'd stay away from the wine from now on.

"Come, we have to find your brother, I think you need to go to bed." He finally said, and he really needed to get away from her.

She shook her head too as if she was coming out of a fog of her own. She was about to protest and say she wasn't tired, but when she opened her mouth all she did was yawn. Theon chuckled nervously, and put his hand on her arm to guide her. They were just starting to get underway, when they heard a small commotion on the other side of the yard. They both turned and stepped away from each other to look. To their surprise, they saw Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow walking in their direction.

"There he is now." And without saying anything else Arya bounded over to her brother in a very unlady like fashion and launched herself at him with a big hug.

Theon walked carefully after them, making sure that his eyes never wandered in Arya's direction. He needed to sleep this off. Tomorrow would be better, his mind would be clearer, and he'd laugh at himself for even entertaining those thoughts of Arya.

"Where were you? I can't believe you left me alone with all those people." Arya admonished Jon.

For his part Jon raised an eyebrow, "I left you there with our brothers and Theon. I thought you were in capable hands."

"But the Lan…." She trailed off and looked down at Tyrion. "Oh… right, sorry."

Theon coughed a little to hide the chuckle that had threatened to erupt from his mouth. Jon just gave her a warning look.

"Oh, no I know exactly what you mean Lady Arya. My sister can be an insufferable bore. And my youngest niece and nephew are a tad shy so no good dinner conversation there. And Joffery," Tyrion said with a smile, trying to put the young Stark girl at ease, "it's best we don't' talk about that one. Although I assure you my brother Jaime is wonderful company, but I'm sure he was busy looking after the King, no doubt."

Upon hearing this she gave Tyrion a wide grin. "I always knew you would be the most interesting of the lot. And don't call me Lady Arya. Arya is just fine."

"She keeps insisting she isn't a lady." Put in Theon when he noticed a bit of confusion upon Tyrion's face.

"Doesn't have a lady like bone within her I'm afraid." Added Jon

"Ahh, well, we can't pretend we are something that we are not." And if Theon wasn't mistaking, Tyrion gave a pointed look at Jon.

"Finally, someone who agrees with me." Arya stated triumphantly. The three men had themselves a bit of a chuckle. If only they could all be so carefree. After the shared moment of their laughter died down, there was a brief moment of awkward silence.

Jon managed to look from his sister, to Theon, back to his sister and finally back to Theon. "What are you two doing out here, anyway?" He asked.

Tyrion saw the suspicious look that Jon had given Theon. 'Well, now that could be an interesting development.' The little man had thought with a small, little smirk twisting upon his lips.

The look wasn't lost on Theon either, and he raised an eyebrow that seemed to say, 'do you really think that lowly of me?' "Don't look at me, Robb saw her stumbling out here and pretty much ordered me to look after her."

Arya didn't really notice the exchange between the two boys, but she did give a bit of a huff at the thought that she needed to be looked after. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. All of you should know that by now." Tyrion was amused to see that she actually gave a petulant pout. Given time he could definitely grow to like this girl. "And besides, I was only looking for you." Arya had said pointedly. "You were the one to disappear, Theon said you went to brood."

Tyrion let out another chuckle.

Theon, let out a small laugh himself. "Sorry." His tone showed that he was anything but.

Jon flashed them both a menacing scowl.

"Oh come on," Arya said pulling on her brother's arm. "Walk me to my room, before you and Theon go at it. Can't you two ever get along." She said as she started walking away from the group. "Good night Theon, Lord Tyrion" she called over her shoulder. She didn't wait for Jon, she knew he would catch up in a few moments.

Jon gave a bit of a sigh, "I suppose I have to follow her." He nodded to Theon, and then to Tyrion, "Lord Tyrion." And quickly followed his sister. He felt some relief that Theon would be left behind. Perhaps he was being the protective older brother, but he thought the two of them had been spending far to much time together.

Tyrion watched as the pair walked away, laughing and pushing each other as they went on. "So, those Stark girls… hmm?" He looked up to Theon, a knowing look played upon is face.

Theon was looking after them as well, his eyes mostly on Arya, and his memory playing with what had happened a few moments before. He practically jumped when the Imp addressed him. "Hmm.. What?"

"Do you fancy her?" He nodded towards where Arya had gone with her brother.

"Lord Stark would not be pleased." He said with a bitter laugh.

"True, but that doesn't really answer my question, now does it?" There was still that insufferable smile playing upon his face. "I would have thought Lady Sansa would have been more your type, the silent, classic beauty. But I can see where one might favor the younger. She's not exactly pretty in the way her sister is, but she does have a certain way about her, I'll give her that. And her spirit, now that, that I can see being the true attraction. Most men like a challenge and she would be a challenge to break." He was needling the boy, he knew it. Tyrion did so like to play with people.

"I doubt any man could break her. Nor should they try." Theon answered pointedly. This conversation was making him very uncomfortable, especially after what he had just experienced when he had gotten so close to Arya. "Besides, she grew up around me, she sees me like a brother."

"Again, you are evading the question my young lord." Tyrion said simply. "You talk of how she feels about you, but what are your feelings for her?"

"I care for her." He paused for a moment. Theon would not admit to something that he wasn't sure about, not to anyone, especially about Arya, because that could only prove to disastrous. "As a brother should care for a sister." He said, but Tyrion could tell there was a little hesitancy there.

"Ah, yes of course." He said, but his tone indicated that he believed nothing of the sort. He knew what a young man in love looked like. He had been one once himself. "Nothing more then a sister." He was amused by the boys awkwardness. It was obvious this was a first for Theon and he was as confused as Tyrion had been when he first found out he loved a girl "Well, it's getting damned cold out here and I better get back in before Jaime kills me for leaving him alone with the Starks." Apparently Tyrion had no misgivings about offending anyone. "A bit of free advice though, I would stop visiting the whore house. A 'lady' doesn't approve of those things, nor would a Lady's highborn parents. And it wouldn't hurt to be a little nicer to the rest of the family." He said with a wink as he started to waddle his way back to the main hall.

Theon looked after him, the last little bit that Tyrion had said only proved to confuse him more. Hadn't he just told the Lannister that he didn't have any sort of romantic feelings towards Arya. Why did he insist on giving him advice he wouldn't choose to use, or even have any reason to use? But still it was worth thinking on, maybe he should start settling down, Lord Stark did look down on him visiting that damned brothel. He supposed a little respect for Jon wouldn't be the worst thing to show. He sighed as he felt the beginnings of a headache, he needed sleep. Maybe everything that involved Arya would make more sense in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days were a blur of activity. There had been more formal announcements of Sansa and Joffrey's betrothal and Ned being named the new Hand of the King. This meant that the men at arms and other servants who had been chosen to South with Ned were bustling around the Keep preparing for the long journey. However, much to Arya's delight, it had been decided that she would be able to stay at Winterfell. But, on the more negative side of things, Arya found herself just as busy as everyone else. Her mother demanded that she entertain the Princess Myrcella, in the small hope that the two of them would become friends. Arya tried to explain to Catelyn that they had nothing in common and that forcing any sort of bond between the two of them would be difficult.

Arya even tried to suggest that Sansa would a better choice for keeping the Princess occupied. However, her mother was quick to point out that Sansa would be busy preparing for her trip. The same trip that Arya was supposed to take, but had somehow talked her father into letting her stay at Winterfell. Catelyn was quick to remind her that since she did not have to go, she had plenty of time to spend with Myrcella. It was then that Arya realized she owed it to her parents to at least try to get along with the Princess. She had to admit that she hadn't expected her parents to give in so easily to her demands of not going to Kings Landing. She had a feeling that if she wasn't on her best behavior, at least until her father left, that they just might change their minds and force her to go anyway. She supposed a few days of activities she didn't enjoy was a small price to pay.

If Arya was being completely honest with herself, she should have been happy for the distraction. She didn't like thinking of the other changes Winterfell would go through once her father left. Not all of them were as pleasant as the thought of Sansa no longer being there. Since Arya would not be making the trip to Kings Landing, Bran would be taking her place. Her parents seemed intent on the idea that Starks and Baratheons should continue the tradition of friendship, by forcing their children to spend as much time together as they could. Since Robb did not seem fond of Joffrey, Arya supposed her parents thought Bran might prove to bridge that gap of friendship. Arya would have thought that Sansa marrying the Prince would be enough, she didn't understand why her parents had to send Bran away too. Arya knew she would miss Bran, he was impossibly fun to tease, but he seemed excited about the adventure that going South might provide.

The harder goodbye would be Jon. Not long after the King's arrival, her uncle Benjen Stark, had arrived from the Wall. He was a ranger for the Night's Watch, and Jon had wanted to take the black for as long as Arya could remember. It was a dream would now come to fruition. It seemed that Benjen and Jon had finally managed to talk Ned into allowing him go to Castle Black. Arya knew this day had been a long time in coming. Being a bastard, Jon did not have many options. He would inherit no lands, no coin, and even though he would always be taken care of at Winterfell, it would never truly be his home. Catelyn had always seen to that. It had always a point of contention between Arya and her mother, the way Jon was treated. Catelyn often thought that it was one of the reasons she found herself at odds with her youngest daughter so often.

That was just one of the many things Arya and her mother seemed to be at odds with. A gulf had grown between them in the past few years and it seemed to widen with each passing day. Theon was another one of those subjects that Arya knew would come between her and her mother. No matter how much she wanted to, Arya could not bring herself to confront Catelyn about her the woman's fears concerning her friendship with Theon. Had her mother warned him against spending time with her? Had her mother noticed that at the feast a few nights before they had spent a fair amount of time together and had even spent a few moments alone? It had not gone unnoticed to Arya that since that night Theon had grown distant with her. But those were questions she dared not ask Catelyn about while there was still a chance that she could be sent to King's Landing with her father.

Luckily with Arya's busy schedule of needlepoint and tedious small talk with the Princess, she managed to keep her thoughts off those who would be leaving her and the one who seemed to be avoiding her. However, one morning, for the first time in three days, she found herself alone. The Queen had wanted to spend some time alone with her daughter and Sansa was too busy with her own interests to pay any attention to her sister. Arya felt a rush of freedom at the realization that she would have a few precious hours to herself. Her first thought was to hide herself outdoors, away from her mother's view, who would no doubt think she was getting into mischief if she didn't have anything productive to do.

Once outside she wandered into the main court yard which was especially busy with horses and men preparing to ride. The night before, King Robert had declared that he wanted to hunt, thus everyone made every effort to see that his wish came true. For a brief moment she longed to go with them only to remember that she would never be welcome, hunting was not an activity in which a proper lady would participate. To soothe herself she reminded herself that Winterfell would seem peaceful once the hunting party departed.

The keep had seemed crowded since the King had come with his family, his guard, and a host of other retainers. It would almost seem a blessing to have even a fraction of that number reduced. She watched over the bustle of the courtyard from an inconspicuous space near the stables, content with the fact that it wouldn't be long before things would quiet down, if only for a few hours. Her father seemed to be happy, talking and joking with King Robert, it made her wonder about the two of them and what their friendship had endured over the years. She saw Jon and Robb, standing near Prince Joffrey, the three of them clearly uncomfortable with each other. She doubted her brothers were intentionally ignoring Joffrey, but the two seemed to be only talking to each other, while the Prince just glanced disdainfully in their direction every once in awhile.

She hadn't yet spied Theon in the throng of people, she knew he was supposed to be going with, but she supposed her father had sent him on some errand. She let her eyes wander from face to face for a few moments, hoping she would spot him. Maybe she could talk to him before they left, perhaps he would be able to tell her why he was ignoring her. When she could find no sign of him, she grew bored of watching the others milling about and simply slipped away from the main court yard to find the solace she had been waiting for. It didn't take her too long to find a quieter area that wasn't seeing as much foot traffic. Sure she could hear the hubbub of the main court yard, but it seemed distant and for the first time in a few days she felt like she could breathe.

Arya let her feet guide her towards an old unused tower of the keep. She had rightly concluded that this area wouldn't be nearly as crowded as it normally was due the hunt. However, that did not mean that there would be no interruptions to her solitude. Her interest was piqued when she heard a small whine coming from just around the curve of the tower. Arya quickly followed sound and when she rounded a the building she was confronted by Bran's dire wolf pup. She raised an eyebrow in amusement at the pathetic look that was playing on his features. She knelt down next to him, gently petting him on the head. "And what seems to be the problem with you boy?" It felt wrong not calling him by a name, but Bran had not yet given him one.

Again the puppy whimpered, and he seemed to be staring at something up above her head. She craned her neck hopping to see what vexed the pup. She shaded her eyes against the morning sun and there she saw her brother Bran scaling the wall. He was nearly halfway up the tower. Arya couldn't help but look up in awe at her brother, he seemed fearless. In the back of her mind something was telling her that it was foolish for him to be climbing to that height, and she was just about to call for him to climb back down when the wolf pup whimpered again. It seemed Bran's wolf didn't like being left behind by his master.

"You better get down from there, little Lord Stark." A voice called, from behind Arya. "I know for a fact your mother made you promise not to go climbing again."

Arya stood up from Bran's wolf quickly and turned to stare at the voice's owner. "Theon!" She said with a smile, she couldn't help it, she was always happy when she saw him.

He was still looking up at Bran when she called his name, he had known she was there but he made a point to only focus on Bran. But when he heard her voice, his eyes automatically jumped to her direction. For a few seconds all he could do was stare at her. That uncomfortable, constricted feeling came again. It was the same feeling he got every time he glanced at her way for the past few days. It was why he had been avoiding her, he was still not yet ready to confront the feelings he seemed to be developing for her. He blinked his eyes once, when he realized that he had probably stared longer then would be considered polite, and then cleared his throat.

"Lady Arya." He responded to her, in an even, polite tone. Then quickly turned his eyes back to Bran. "Bran…"

"I'm coming!" Bran called back, disappointment dripping in his voice. But he was true to his words, he had already started descending down the wall.

Arya frowned at Theon's seemingly cold reaction, but quickly shook off the hurt to look up at her brother. It was true, if her mother found out that Bran had been up there she would be livid. Not that she could blame Bran for wanting to climb. When she thought she could get away with it, she would scale a few walls herself, but she had never ventured as high or as difficult climbs as he did. She would never admit it to him, or anyone else, but when it came to heights, Bran seemed to be the braver one. As she watched him now, she even had to admit that he was the more skilled climber.

It didn't take him long to get to a hight where he could simply jump the rest of the way down to where Arya and his dire wolf were. He gave Arya a big smile, then leaned down to give his pup a few pats on the head. Finally he let the smile fall from his face and looked sheepishly at Theon. "You're not going to tell my mother, are you?" His look was hopeful.

Theon gave a small sigh and then moved closer to the small group. He gave the younger boy a perplexed frown. His voice was reluctant. "No, I don't suppose I will." He shook his head slightly, but Arya could see there was a spark of amusement in his tone. "But you realize you're going to hurt yourself one of these days if you keep it up."

Arya grinned, "I doubt that. He seemed perfectly at ease scaling down that wall." She turned to look at the wall Bran had just challenged. "I doubt you could have done as well Lord Theon." Then turned back to look at him with a smirk.

"You might be right, but I also have the good sense to realize just how dangerous it is." Theon countered lightly. He allowed himself to glance her way, and for a brief moment it seemed like nothing had changed between the two of them. For just a second he thought maybe things could go back to the way they were. But then he realized that he had to force himself to look away from her. He didn't have to do that before he realized that she was no longer a little girl.

Theon practically gritted his teeth in frustration as he turned to Bran. "Anyway, your father asked me to come find you. I think he would like to say good bye before the hunting party leaves."

Bran didn't seem to have any clue as to what was going on between the two of them (to be fair, Arya didn't really understand it either), so he just nodded his head. "Alright." With that he beckoned his wolf and started to run towards the main court yard.

Once Bran was out of sight, Theon's body tensed with the realization that he was now alone with Arya. Without so much as a glance, he stiffly nodded his head in her direction. "Good day, Lady Arya." He wanted nothing more than to get away from her. Just being near her seemed to be a distraction, and the infatuation that he had seemed to catch when he was alone with her before lingered. In fact it seemed to be growing in her presence. He needed to leave.

He was about ready to make his escape when she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Theon, have I done something wrong?" She looked at him her grey eyes full of confusion and hurt. She could tell that there had been change in the way he felt about her, just from the cold way he treated her. She was no longer certain that it had anything to do with her mother's disapproval of their friendship.

Theon looked down to the hand she kept on his arm. It was probably only in his head, but he thought he could feel the warmth of her touch even through the thickness of his shirt. He wanted to close his eyes and relish in that warmth, it seemed to radiate further within him the longer her hand stayed there. It took effort, but he made himself ignore the fact that she was touching him. Finally he brought his eyes back up to hers, even though he knew it was dangerous. He regretted the hurt he saw there.

He shook his head gently. "You haven't done anything."

Arya raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Oh?" She asked, a storm growing within those grey eyes, she felt she was being lied to. She didn't like being lied to, especially by someone she thought was a friend. "Is that why you have been avoiding me?"

Theon knew he couldn't brush this off, she wouldn't let him. He tried to think quickly, to think about what he could possibly say that would appease her. She was clouding his thoughts, so it was difficult. As the seconds went by, he could tell that she was getting more and more annoyed with him because there was no answer forthcoming. He needed to get away from her, it wasn't lost on him that he was finding her more and more attractive the angrier she seemed to become. Her cheeks flushed with a hint of pink and her lips trembled slightly in anger. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes from the storm that raged with in hers. She was holding him captive and she didn't even know it.

Finally he just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Sansa."

She looked taken aback by his reply, but only for a moment. In her mind it made sense, hadn't she even accused him of having feelings for Sansa a few nights ago. "Oh." Was all she managed to say, even that managed to sound hollow. Why had her stomach dropped when he had mentioned her sister's name? She recovered quickly enough to say, "I think I understand." She hoped that it had sounded sincere.

To him, the words most certainly had sounded sincere. And it felt like the equivalent of being punched in the gut. She hadn't even blinked when Sansa's name fell from his lips. Any kind of feelings he thought he might have detected from her that feast night were purely platonic. He quickly masked any disappointment his face might betray with his ever present smirk. "I'm sure you do." He pulled away from her quickly, as she hadn't yet lifted her hand from his arm. He felt a chill immediately as he lost the contact, but he resolved not to betray his feelings and turned quickly way. Calling over his shoulder. "Your father is expecting me. We'll talk when I get back." A promise he had no intention of keeping. He needed to stay away from her.

She dully nodded her head, only to realize he couldn't see her. He was out of sight before she could yell after him. She wasn't certain, but she had felt like something had shifted in their friendship, in those few moments that they had been alone. She felt a pang of sadness ripple through her heart. This change, whatever it was, it felt as if she were losing a friend, and her lips turned down in a frown.

Suddenly she felt a nudge upon her left hand. She looked down to see her own wolf pup trying to get her attention. She couldn't help but smile. Nymeria must have somehow gotten out of the kennel and sensed that Arya needed a friend. "Hello Nymeria." She said as she rested her hand on the wolf's head. "It seems you knew I needed some company." She let out a small sigh. "You know me pretty well girl." At least someone understood her. "Come on, let us go for a walk. Maybe it will help me clear my mind."

Nymira barked in agreement. Arya let out a small chuckle and let the wolf lead the way and thoughts of Theon were put to the back of her mind. It never occurred to her that she should have talked to her mother about what she had caught Bran doing earlier that day. She just concentrated on the small amount of freedom she had for the day.

—

It was a few hours later, Arya had figured it it was mid afternoon and she knew her time alone was coming to an end. Her mother excepted her back to start preparing for supper. Her stomach rumbled slightly, she was getting a bit hungry. Her mid-day meal had only been an apple and some bread that she had managed to sneak from the kitchens. During the course of the day she found herself within the Godswood. She was sitting lazily with her back against tree that stood near the weir tree. Usually it was a place she came to for peace, sitting near the ancient tree with it's wizened face some how always brought her solace. She was probably one of the few people who felt that way, but it meant not many people would bother her here.

Arya let out a small sigh as she let her hand glide over Nymeria's back. "I think we should probably go back girl. Mother will likely be getting worried about me."

The wolf let out a little whine, as if to show she didn't much care for that idea. Arya smiled lightly, it almost seemed as if sometimes they could understand each other. "I know, I don't want to go back either. We'll probably have to play nice again." Arya frowned. "You'll have to be put in the kennels again." She moved her hand to scratch behind Nymeria's ears as if to say she was sorry. Arya's heart broke a little when she heard the defeated whine her wolf gave as a response. "I know, I know. But it shouldn't be for very much longer. Pretty soon all the visitors will be gone and you can have a little more freedom."

Nymeria nudged her muzzle against her cheek as if to say that she understood. Then she nudged Arya a second time. Arya looked at her and laughed. "Okay, okay girl, we'll get going." With that, Arya stood up slowly brushing off any stray leaves and dirt that had accumulated on her dress. She gave one last look toward the weir tree. The moment her eyes locked on to what was considered the 'eyes' of the tree, her skin prickled, like the air had been charged with an unseen force. She looked around quickly to see if anything was amiss in her little part of the wood. But everything on the surface seemed normal, Arya just couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

She looked down at Nymeria, who also seemed to sense something was amiss. Deep within the wolf's chest a slow, low rumble could be heard and in a few seconds it intensified into a full growl, until finally she barked. Nymeria's behavior only fed into Arya's rising panic. "What is it girl?" Arya looked around the clearing wondering if there was someone lurking in the trees of the wood. Again, everything seemed normal.

She combed her mind desperately trying to figure out why everything seemed to feel so wrong. She was wondering what her next move would be when Nymeria seemed to have decided it for her. The wolf pup suddenly took off toward Winterfell. Without another thought, Arya ran after her.

With how fast she could run, it didn't take her long to make it back to the keep. Winterfell was her home and she was supposed to feel safe there, but that feeling of safety would not come. Despite the fact that everything around her was normal, she knew that something bad had happened. Her first thoughts were of her brothers and her father, of those who had gone on the hunt. She franticly careened towards the main house, knowing that if there was any news, there was the place she would get it. However before she could reach it there was a loud scream coming from the keep's oldest tower. The one Bran had been climbing earlier. Instantly she turned towards the sound, she thought it had sounded like her mother. The fear was growing sharper within her heart.

By the time she reached the tower she had to push her way through a small crowd of servants. At the center of it all, she found her mother huddled on the ground next to what Arya thought was a body. Bran's wolf was also there, walking back and forth growling at anyone who dared come close to the two figures. Arya's heart started to pound as she looked upon the scene. It wasn't hard for Arya to figure out that the broken figure beside her mother was Bran. She shuddered realizing that the boy must have fallen while trying to climb the old tower.

What happened next was a blur. Sansa must have heard the commotion and came to see what was the matter. Once she saw her brother's broken body she grabbed Arya's hand. Arya was so numb she could barely feel it. Maester Luwin had been summoned almost immediately. Thankfully Bran's wolf let him near so he could examine the boy. Someone must have called for Septa Mordane, because she had started to pull Sansa and Arya away from the scene. Arya could hardly hear anything beside the dull roar in her ears. She seemed confused, the worry she felt for her brother making her unable to think, her fear was starting to rule her thoughts. She felt so helpless, she wasn't sure if he was dead, and even if he was still alive she couldn't do anything to help him. She screamed silently within her head. She let the Septa slowly lead them away.

The moment before she was out of earshot she received a brief second of clarity. She heard the three words that gave her all the hope she needed to get through the next few hours.

"He lives still." The Maester said calmly.

Her brother was a wolf of Winterfell, like herself. He would fight. He would live. She knew it.


	5. Chapter 5

Since Bran's accident the atmosphere around Winterfell had grown subdued. People were still rushing about, doing their duties, but it was all with a hushed quality. The air was filled with tension and it felt like the slightest sound would shatter the tentative calm. No one wanted to be loud out of respect for the sick. The Stark family and those who lived at Winterfell all seemed to be waiting with baited breath to see when Bran would wake.

The sitting around and waiting was driving Arya crazy. She longed to have something to distract her, but everyone seemed to be busy with something else, finding their own distractions. Even her forced time with Myrcella had been cut short. It seemed the Queen had wanted her children close to her since Bran's accident. Sansa and her father were still preparing for the journey to King's Landing. They would still be going. The King still needed Ned and there was really nothing they could do for Bran except wait. Lord Stark could do that in King's Landing. So, they would be leaving in only a few days time. So would Jon. Robb had been spending as much time as he could with Ned before he left, receiving last minute instructions on how Winterfell should be run in his absence. Theon most likely would be shadowing Robb. And Catelyn, the one person who would gladly give Arya ideas on what she could do, hadn't left Bran's side, she didn't seem overly concerned about what Arya or even Rickon, did with their time.

Arya felt a little lost. Most of the time she found herself sitting on the fence that surrounded the kennels. All of the wolves seemed restless too. Catelyn had forbidden Bran's wolf from staying with Bran and the wolf paced back and forth like a sentry below Bran's window. All the other wolves seemed to want to be near their masters, as if they were afraid the rest of Stark children would meet the same fate as Bran. Although, sometimes having the wolves around them at all times wasn't possible. The children had resorted to keeping them in the kennels when duty wouldn't allow the wolves to be with them. This only served to agitate them more. Arya thought that it would help them if at least someone from the family was near them.

Today Robb's wolf, Grey Wind, and Jon's, Ghost, had been forced to stay within the confines of the kennel. Since Arya was there, Nymeria was too. The three of them playfully nipped at one another as Arya sat on the wooden fence that surrounded the area. She watched as they ran around, her mind not really there, her thoughts on her brother who seemed to be in an endless sleep.

She didn't hear him approach, rather she felt Theon's presence the moment he leaned on the fence next to where she sat. His elbows propped on the wood as he too looked at the wolf pups. Neither of them said anything, nor did they look at each other, there wasn't any need. She practically sighed with relief that he was there. One would have thought that any silence would be awkward after the last time they had been alone together, but Bran's accident seemed to have made them forget what had happened. For now they seemed comfortable enough with each other. She shifted slightly so that her arm made contact with his as if to thank him. She appreciated that he had sought her out and that he was putting whatever problem they seemed to be having with each other aside for the moment. They stayed that way awhile, silently soaking in each other's company.

Finally, when Arya did speak, her voice was subdued. "Do you think we should have told my mother?"

He turned his head slightly so he could see her from the corner of his eye. "What? That we saw him climbing that morning?"

Her gaze remained on the wolves, but she nodded her head.

"Do you think it would have done any good?" He asked.

She let out a small sigh. "No I don't suppose it would have." Despite her words she still wore a defeated look. "Mother would have scolded him, he would have promised not to climb, and as soon as he was out of her sight he would have been right back at it."

"Aye," Theon nodded in agreement. "You Starks do have a streak of stubbornness in you."

There was a ghost of a smile that flitted across her lips. "That's how I know he's going to be okay," she said quietly. With that they fell into their comfortable silence again for a few moments before she blurted our, "I've missed you, you know."

A small chuckle escaped his lips, "yeah, I know." He shrugged his shoulders as if his avoidance had meant nothing. "I'm here now, though." He wasn't even sure why he was there. It wasn't as if he started off the morning seeking her out. It almost seemed as if there was some sort of unseen force drawing him to her. He wondered if it was because he thought he could give her some comfort while she worried about her brother. He almost laughed aloud at that notion. Arya Stark didn't seem to need anyone. Whatever it was, he was with her now and that was what mattered.

Ayra was just about to ask him a question, when a timid voice called out to her, "Arya?"

Arya turned her attention away from Theon, and was surprised to see that it was Princess Myrcella who had beaconed her. She quickly jumped off the fence as she felt Theon straighten up from his slouch, both of them trying to show the Princess a little respect. Arya was the first to speak up. "Hello Princess, is there something I can help you with?"

Myrcella looked from Arya, to Theon, then back to Arya, and shyly shook her head. "No, I just came to see the wolf pups. And I thought maybe you would be here too. I haven't seen much of you since Bran had his accident, and I was wondering if you were alright. I didn't realize you would already have company. I'm sorry if I was interrupting anything."

"Oh," answered Arya a bit stunned. She looked up at Theon, who just shrugged his shoulders with a small grin playing upon his lips. "It's okay, you weren't interrupting."

Theon nodded his head in agreement. "I was just checking up on her, too."

"Of course." Princess Myrcella paused awkwardly for a moment. "My Uncle Tyrion says that Bran isn't going to die. That the Maester said now all anyone had to do was wait for him to wake up. I hope he does so soon. I've been praying to the Seven to make it so. I know that the Starks hold to the Old Gods, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to pray to mine as well…" She trailed off realize that she was rambling.

Arya couldn't help but smile a little. "It's okay my mother honors the Seven. Thank you."

Myrcella nodded her head. "I also wanted a chance to say goodbye before we left. My mother went to pay respects to Bran and I was able to slip away for a little bit. I had hoped that you would change your mind and go with your father, I enjoyed spending time with you."

Arya was surprised that she found the Princess to be sincere. "You did?"

This time it was Myrcella who wore the amused smile. "Of course. I know you weren't all that impressed with the afternoon teas and the needle point, but I enjoyed spending time with someone closer to my own age. Usually I only have my brothers or mother for company. It was a nice change. I wish we had more of a chance to become friends."

Arya stared agape at the Princess. Theon chuckled quietly the sight. "You'll have to forgive her Princess," he said lightly, "she's not used to people actually wanting to be around her."

Arya turned to give Theon a glare and almost stuck her tongue out at him before she realized how childish that would seem. She quickly gave her attention back to Myrcella, becoming serious. She had been selfish not to realize how lonely life as a princess might have been. She had been so caught up in the fact that she was being forced to spend time with Myrcella that she hadn't realized that girl might have been craving a friend. She regretted not having tried harder now that it was too late. She had let her dislike for Joffrey and Cersei get in the way of truly reaching out to Myrcella.

"I wish we could have become friends, too." Arya said to the Princess. Then as an after thought, "but I'm sure you'll find time to befriend Sansa. She's much nicer then me!"

"It's true." Theon said with an amused smirk.

"Shut up." Arya responded with gritted teeth as she elbowed his stomach. He grunted lightly and faked a wounded expression, to which she rolled her eyes. "You didn't have to agree with me."

Myrcella giggled quietly at the two of them. "You two seem close. That afternoon…" She paused a moment as Bran entered her thoughts again, "that afternoon of Bran's accident, I tried to look for you, but I couldn't find you. Were the two of you spending time together?"

"What?" Arya asked she could feel her cheeks redden slightly at what the Princess seemed to be implying.

"Er, that is, uh…" Theon said as he took a step to distance himself from Arya, he thought Myrcella might be getting the wrong idea about the two of them. "That is, no of course we weren't together. I was with the hunting party that afternoon."

The Princess just looked at them with raised eyebrows before realizing what it was they thought she meant. "Oh, no I didn't mean like that. Of course not like that, that would be improper. I just meant I thought that you two seemed like good friends is all."

Arya was still red faced. She wasn't certain the situation could have gotten any more awkward. She needed to say something quick to get them all focused on anything other than her and Theon. "I… uh… I'm sorry. I was out walking the day Bran fell. I was under the impression that you wouldn't need my company because your mother wanted to spend the day with you."

Myrcella shrugged her shoulders. "She did, but in the afternoon she had a headache and she said she needed to rest, so she sent me away. I had hoped to find you, but now I wish I had found Bran instead. Maybe he wouldn't have been climbing if he had to keep me company."

Theon and Arya exchanged a look before Arya responded. "It isn't your fault he fell Princess."

Myrcella nodded and then with a sigh said, "I suppose I should get back before my mother gets worried." And with that she stepped closer to Arya and suddenly gave her a hug "I hope we meet again someday. Perhaps we really can become friends."

Arya returned the hug awkwardly. "I uh… hope so too." She glared at Theon who stood their silently laughing at the two of them.

Finally Myrcella pulled away with a smile. "And I hope Bran gets better soon." She turned her attention Theon and gave him a small nod. "It was nice to meet you, too, Lord Theon. Goodbye Arya."

As they watched the Princess walk away, Arya appeared thoughtful as an air of seriousness came back to the two. "There is something incredibly sad about that girl."

He found that he had to agree with Arya and he couldn't help but wonder if it was because Myrcella reminded him of just how little freedom he had. How little any of them had. Theon once again lounged against the fence, now that he didn't have to show respect that was due a princess. With a shrug of his shoulders, he crossed his arms and looked down at his boots. "You know how constricting the life of a noble born girl can be. Imagine how much worse it must be for her."

"You have a point." She studied him carefully. His expression betrayed a seriousness that she had only seen in him when he thought no one was looking at him. "You've gotten morose all the sudden." She said a bit perplexed. She moved that she stood in front of him, in fairly close proximity so that he would be forced to look at her.

"There's much to be morose about," he shrugged off her concern.

"You're that worried about Bran?"

He frowned slightly at that. "You seem surprised by that."

Her frown mirrored his, she hadn't meant to hurt him by saying that. Without thinking she raised her hand to his brow. When ever he got upset about something she noticed a furrow that would appear there, and now she let her fingers gently trace it as if she could make it go away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. Of course you are worried about him."

As her hand ghosted over his skin he sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. He didn't trust himself to keep eye contact with her, not with her this close and definitely not with her touching him. He allowed himself to relish in her touch if only for a second. How could such a fierce little girl have such a soft touch?

He wanted to tell her that it was okay, that he accepted her apology, but what came out when he finally forced himself to talk surprised him. "My lady," he said softly, "you really shouldn't touch me like that." He mentally prepared himself to meet her gaze and then opened his eyes so he could confront her. He moved quickly to grab her wrist, forcing her fingers to break contact with his brow.

Arya was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze when he opened his eyes, it made her heart beat faster. She doubted she could turn away from him at that moment even if she wanted to. "Why shouldn't I?" Her tone seemed to challenge him.

"Because, I can't…" He started, but before he could finish they were interrupted.

"What is going on here?" They both turned to see Jon glowering at them accusingly.

For a moment everything seemed to come to a stand still and the two of them looked like a couple of guilty children who had been caught doing something they knew they shouldn't be doing. Then realization seemed to hit them, and almost instantaneously Theon dropped her wrist and Arya backed away from him.

"This isn't what it looks like," but those words seemed ridiculously hollow in Thoen's ears.

In response to those words, Jon simply glared at Theon, then turned his disapproving look to Arya. The words he said however were directed to Theon. "Robb is looking for you and I'd like to have a few words alone with my sister."

Arya looked like she wanted to argue, but Theon stepped into motion before she could. "Fair enough." He said with a hint of fake cheerfulness in his voice. "Arya." He nodded in her direction, but he didn't dare look at her. He gave Jon a smirk, "and Jon, I'm sure I'll talk to you later." And with that he sauntered easily in the direction of the keep. He desperately hoped that he covered his worry up, he knew that Jon would have thought a line had been crossed. Hopefully Arya could talk to him and let him know that nothing had happened, even though he had a feeling things might have intensified if Jon hadn't interrupted. In hindsight, maybe it was a good thing Jon had shown up.

Arya just watched him go, her thoughts jumbled and confused. What in the Seven Hells just happened there? She couldn't seem to calm her wildly beating heart. What was beyond her reasoning to understand was that it was Theon Greyjoy's making her heart jump. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. Wasn't Sansa the one to be preoccupied with ridiculous notions of love and boys?

Jon however did not seem to be in the mood for her silence, nor the fact that she seemed to be blatantly ignoring him. "Arya, what did I interrupt?" It was the second time he had asked it, but it seemed she hadn't heard him, as she was to busy staring in the direction that Theon had walked off in.

"Hmm?" She finally turned her attention to him.

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he asked, "Theon… what were you doing with him?"

For a moment Arya said nothing, her glare was enough to let Jon know that this conversation was not one that she wished not to have, "we were talking." She stated.

"Talking?" Jon asked in disbelief. "It looked a lot more intimate then that."

"He is my friend Jon." Her tone seemed dare him to find fault in that. "He was concerned for me and how I was coping with Bran's condition. Which is more then I can say for a lot of other people." She looked pointedly at him when she said this.

His frowned deepened at her accusation. "That's not fair. I've been busy, you know that. I'm sorry I haven't found time to look after you." He shook his head in frustration, "but that's not the point! You shouldn't be spending time alone with him. He's dangerous-"

"Dangerous?" Arya scoffed. "You have got to be joking. Theon Greyjoy? The boy we both grew up with? What makes you think he could possibly hurt me in any way? Or that I would even let him. He is my friend Jon. Do you not get that?"

"Friends don't look at each other the way you two looked at each other, Arya." Jon shook his head. "You're young, you don't get what boys… what young men like him… you don't…" He seemed to have trouble talking to his little sister about this topic, especially since at the moment the discussion pertained to her. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, just stay away from him okay? At least don't spend so much alone time with him."

"Did you really just order me to stay away from him?" Her look of disbelief told him just what she thought of that idea. "What makes you think you have a say in who I spend my time with. What makes you think you have the right to act like the overprotective, older brother, especially now that you're going to be leaving?" She pointed at him accusingly. "You gave up that right when you decided you'd rather be a sworn brother of the Night's Watch."

Her words hurt him more then if she had slapped him across the face. "That's not fair. Did Uncle Benjen stop being father's brother when he took the oath?" He waited until he saw her shake her head no before he continued. "It's not going to stop me, either."

"No, but you're still leaving us." Arya stated. "Right when we need you most. Father is leaving and taking Sansa with him. Bran…" she faltered a little. "We don't know what is going to happen to him. Why do you have to go too?" With her last question she seemed to let some of the anger she felt toward him leave.

Jon seemed to have calmed a little too. "It's time for me to go Arya. You know I can't stay here forever. I make your mother uncomfortable." He held up a hand to forestall her protests. "It makes me uncomfortable. You always knew my intentions were to take the Black. It's where I belong."

"But couldn't you wait, at least until Bran wakes?"

He gave her a small sad smile. "Life has to go on, Bran won't wake up any faster if I'm here or not."

Arya frowned, even though she knew he was right.

"But I didn't come looking for you to pick a fight." Jon said. "I have something for you." This time he allowed a genuine smile to grace his lips.

Her eyes brightened suddenly. "Really? What?" She eyed a something in his left hand that she hadn't noticed before because her thoughts were occupied elsewhere. It was something long and skinny and wrapped in a coarse cloth.

"I had it made especially for you." He said as he held up the oddly wrapped present. "Think of it as a goodbye gift." Slowly he unwrapped the cloth to reveal a small, thin sword. "This is no practice sword, it's the real thing." He said, as he tentatively held it out to her.

She took it gently in her hand. "It's so skinny."

"Like you." He laughed. "You're going to have to practice using it. I told Father I was giving you this, and he agrees that if you're going to have a sword you're going to have to know how to wield it properly. Robb or Theon, or even Ser Rodrik are not going to be able to teach you properly. You're too slight of build to use the normal Westerosi style of fighting. Father says that once he's in King's Landing he'll be able to find someone who might be willing to teach you a style that might be more suitable and he'll send him along to Winterfell But in the mean time, remember the first lesson I taught you…"

"Stick them with the pointy end!" Ayra laughed. "I remember."

He chuckled with her. "Also remember that all the best swords have names, so you'll have to think of a good one."

She looked down at her new blade, staying quiet for a moment while she gave it some thought. "Well, it's long and skinny, kind of like a needle."

"I think you have your name then." He said with a smile. "Needle."

She gave him a smile, their fight from before now, all but forgotten. "Thank you Jon. I love it."

"I knew you would." He handed her the cloth that held Needle and watched as she gingerly wrapped it back up.

Once it seemed to be safely covered she set it on the ground, propped up against one of the fence posts. When she straightened up she jumped into Jon's arms and gave him a big hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too." He said with a chuckle as he returned her hug. She may have been growing up, and he might not be able to do anything to stop that, but she wasn't too grown up or reserved not to give her brother a big bear hug. Once she pulled away, he gave her a careful look, "now about Theon."

"Stop." Her grey eyes clouded over. "We dropped that subject. Don't ruin this perfect brother, sister moment with your needless worrying."

He held up is hands as if he was surrendering, "okay, okay. Just promise me you'll carry your Needle when you are around him. He'll be less likely to try something if you are armed."

"It astounds me to know how little faith you have in him." Arya said with a small sigh, but she let her lips curve up into a smile. It was sweet that Jon was worried for her, even if he had no reason to, she doubted Theon could ever hurt her in the way Jon had implied.

"Only when it comes to my favorite little sister." He raised his hand and ruffled her hair and laughed as she tried to duck away from him. "Come on, I'll walk you back." He waited for her to collect her sword, and then the two of them set out for the main house.


	6. Chapter 6

It was several weeks after Lord Eddard Stark had left for Kings Landing and things around Winterfell had started to get better. Bran had woken, and while Maester Luwin said recovery would be a long and difficult road for the young Stark, he had no doubt he would recover fully. The mood of the keep was considerably lightened. Especially after they had received a raven from King’s Landing saying that everyone had arrived safe and sound, with no troubles along the King’s Road. Sansa seemed to be settling into life at court with ease, and even Ned was finding the transition to King’s Hand easier then expected. Everything seemed to be perfect, that was until the raven came from Pyke.

It seemed Lord Balon Greyjoy had wanted his son back, and was able to broker his return to the Iron Islands. The raven’s letter did not say how Lord Stark had been persuaded to allow Theon to return home, it just said that Balon expected his son home in a few weeks time. A prospect that should have made Theon happy, but he felt numb. Balon might have been his blood, but the only man who had raised him was Eddard Stark. He grew up in Winterfell, it was the only home he knew, but it was not his, and now he would be sent to a place he could barely remember. He would be leaving behind so much, Robb and the other Stark boys, they were his true brothers. 

Then…then there was Arya. The one Stark he wasn’t sure how he could leave behind. His heart constricted at the thought that he might never see her again once he left. Or if he did see her, she would probably belong to someone else. At least while he lived at Winterfell he could be near her, even if he could expect nothing to become of his infatuation. But now knowing that he would have to leave her, he avoided her at all costs. He could not trust himself to be around her. He feared he would either gather his courage and express his feelings for her, and she would reject him, or worse, laugh at him. Or he was afraid he would treat her with harsh, cold words to push her away from him, and he couldn’t bear her hurt expression or her anger. So he took the coward’s way out, and hid in his room under the guise that he had to prepare for home.

That was where she found him. Arya barged into his room without so much as a knock and slammed the door shut behind her. “WHENE WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME?” She shouted at him, her cheeks were red with fury, her eyes flashed with anger directed solely at him.

“Tell you what,” Theon asked carefully, “exactly?”

Her eyes narrowed at his feigned innocence. She lowered her voice so that she no longer yelled, but she still sounded dangerous. “It was bad enough that Robb had to tell me you were going home.” She saw that he was about to open his mouth, probably to apologize, but at that moment she didn’t want to hear it. “But this!?! Is this why you’ve been hiding in your room?” Arya sneered as she shoved a slip of parchment at him and he fumbled to catch it.

“Arya..” His eyes looked down at the crumbled parchment, he tried to focus on the words, but he found it difficult with the angry girl standing before him. He was embarrassed to see that his hands shook slightly. Gods she could terrify him at times like this. “I don’t even know…”

“Don’t you try to talk your way out of this one, Theon Greyjoy.” She motioned with disgust at the letter. “We got a raven from King’s Landing today. It seems your father and my father have come to an arrangement.”

Theon blinked at the word arrangement, could the letter he held in his hands possibly be what he thought it meant. His heart lurched in his chest. If it was, it would all make sense, why he was suddenly called back to Pyke, why Lord Stark had agreed to let him go. His mouth went dry and suddenly he felt nervous. His voice was slightly above a whisper. “What arrangement are you talking about Arya?”

She moved closer to him. Her index finger extended and she jabbed him roughly in the chest. “Don’t pretend you don’t know about it. I’m to go with you to the Iron Islands. I’m to become your wife. I’m to be used as a pawn in the games the great houses play. We both are! They’re using us to unite our houses, to make sure there won’t be another rebellion. And you are standing there, calm as can be, like you’re okay with all of this! Damn it Theon, say something!”

He wasn’t calm, he was the furthest thing from calm. Everything he had ever wanted, it was finally going to happen. She was going to be his, and he would be hers. “I didn’t know. My father, he didn’t tell me in his letter.” He murmured.

“Oh.” That seemed to take some of the anger away. She could tell he was telling the truth. But she was still angry, even if it wasn’t with him, it wasn’t his fault they were being forced into marriage. “But why aren’t you upset over this? They’re forcing us into this!”

“It’s simple, I don’t care.” He said quietly, stunned that he actually said the words out loud.

“How can you not care?” she scoffed, not seeming to get his meaning. “You’re telling me that you don’t mind being stuck with-“

“I. Don’t. Care.” This time he said it with a little more conviction. With each word he took a step closer to her, and she backed up with each of his steps. Her eyes widened with slow understanding as he kept talking. “Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed what has been going on between us. Stop playing so innocent. It doesn’t suit you Arya. I’ve started to fall in love with you, and you might not want to admit it, even to yourself, but you have feelings for me too.” Finally he backed her up to the door she had slammed when she first entered his room.

For once she didn’t seem to know what to say to him, so he continued. “So, Arya Stark, to answer your question. I don’t care, if I’m being used, because it means, for the first time, that I get what I want. Who, I want.” He raised his hands so that they rested on her waist, pressing his body lightly against hers. “I get you.” He could tell she was about to say something, but he didn’t want to give her the chance to ruin the moment before he had the chance to do what he was about to do. He leaned down, bringing his lips lightly to hers.

At first she was hesitant to return the kiss. He could tell, and his heart sunk. His grand declaration was all for naught. He had read her signals wrong, she didn’t want him, the same way that he wanted her. His only consolation was that he had at least gathered his courage to tell her how he felt. He started to pull away from her, but just as he was about to break the kiss, her arms snuck around his neck, keeping him in place. It took a second for him to realize that she had started to kiss him back. Once that realization hit he took it as an invitation to deepen the kiss. After a moment they both needed to breathe so they parted, both of them reluctant to do so. Breathless, they simply stared at each other, they had nothing to say. Their eyes said it all, she hadn’t said the words like he had, but he knew that she loved him.

He leaned in for another kiss and she met him halfway there. Their kisses soon became a bit frantic as they started to lose themselves, clumsily she broke away from him and started to tug at his shirt as if she wanted to take it off of him. He took his hands from her waist and took her hands in his. His eyes smoldered as he looked at her, but his voice was serious. “Are you sure you want this?”

“I’m sure,” she said quietly and as if to prove that she was sincere she lifted his shirt up his torso and he helped to slip the rest of it off. For a moment nothing happened as she studied his bare chest, then shyly she let her finger tips touch him, and he shivered slightly. He doubted he could ever get sick of that touch. She let her hands slide up to his shoulders and rested them there, her eyes looking to him to make the next move. She was out of her depth, and she had no idea what she was doing.

He smiled a little at her innocence, it was the first time he had ever seen her so uncertain over anything. He loved his fierce little wolf, but he didn’t mind this side of her either. Especially if he was the only one who got to see it. He raised his hand to her cheek, as if touching her to make sure that this was indeed happening, once he seemed satisfied that it was real, he moved his hand to brush the hair away from her neck. He leaned down to give her a small kiss on the lips again, but pulled away before it could deepen. It seemed like she was about to protest that move, but he let his arms wrap around her waist in a hug. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, letting his lips brush against it in a a light kiss.

“Theon…” she whispered breathlessly.

He smirked a little, hearing his name like that escape her lips. He wanted to hear it again, so once more he kissed the side of her neck.

“Theon!” He paused a moment, realizing the tone of her voice had changed. Confused he lifted his head so he could look at her, hoping nothing was wrong.

“THEON, WAKE UP.” Yelled an amused Robb Stark from the door of Theon’s room.

With that, Theon jolted up in his bed, his face was pale with realization, he had just dreamed about Arya Stark. Seven hells, what was that girl doing to him? He rubbed his eyes, with the heal of his hands, trying to wake himself up even more. It also gave him an excuse so he wouldn’t have to have any sort of eye contact with Robb. He was a little embarrassed that he had just dreamed that sort of dream about his closest friend’s little sister. He didn’t need Robb to get wind of his strange feelings for Arya, it was already bad enough Jon wanted to kill him.

“Must have been some dream?” Robb said as he leaned against the door frame. “It took forever to wake you.”

“You really don’t want to know.” Theon muttered. He really, really did not want to talk about this, not to anyone, and definitely not to Robb. So instead he put on his most annoyed face and gave his friend a glare. “Why are you hear waking me up anyway?”

“We were supposed to meet in the practice yard this morning. Remember?” Robb said, and when Theon still had a blank face he realized the boy had forgotten. “We were suppose to spar. We wanted to get some practice in before my Father leaves.” He laughed a little as his friend still showed no recognition. “What’s been wrong with you lately Theon, your head has been elsewhere for the past week or two?”

Nervously, Theon scratched the back of his neck. Had he really been acting differently? “Nothing’s wrong.”

Robb shrugged his shoulders, clearly not believing him. “If you say so.”

“Look,” Theon sighed in frustration as she tarted to untangle himself from his sheets. “Give me a minute, I’ll get ready to practice.” 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s almost time to break our fast anyway.” Robb said straitening up. “We’ll have time to practice later. Don’t forget Father and Sansa leave in just a few hours along with the Royal family. We’re all expected to be there to say our good byes.” He said in away that said he wanted to do anything but say good bye to Winterfell’s guests.

“At least they won’t be here after this morning.” Theon offered lightly.

“Just don’t be late.” Robb muttered as he moved to leave the room.

“Wait,” Theon called before Robb closed the door, “any change with Bran?”

Robb frowned slightly, “no, not yet.”

—

For the next hour or so, Theon went through the motions of getting ready for the day. The dream was what was foremost in his mind. He couldn’t seem to get the implications of what it meant out of his mind. He had accepted the fact that his feelings for Arya were far more then just friendship. But in that dream he had used that four letter word that started with L. He had been fairly certain that he was infatuated with her, not that he loved her. Now he thought that maybe his feelings for her had started growing long before he even acknowledged he had them. Either way, the word love used in respect to Arya terrified him. 

Frustrated by the whole situation, he resolved not to think about it. He could admit that in the dream, he was happy, everything seemed to work out, Bran was okay, Arya returned his feelings, and Lord Stark agreed to him marrying her. But that was all it was, a dream, and Theon was a realist. Reality rarely turned out so nice. So he wouldn’t torture himself by thinking of a future that couldn’t happen. He pushed all thoughts of the dream to the back of his mind. He would do what he did best, hide his feelings behind a smile. 

Which is exactly what he did as he made his way out to the main courtyard, where almost everyone had gathered to say good byes. His gaze was instantly drawn to where Arya stood with her father and most of her siblings, Bran and Catelyn were noticeably missing from the scene. Mentally he kicked himself, she really shouldn’t be first thing he sought out if he wanted to rid himself of this infatuation. Unfortunately she glanced his way before he could turn away and favored him with a smile. He thought about ignoring her completely, but he knew that would just anger her. If he angered her he knew she would seek him out and force him to confront his feelings for her. Just like he almost did that day before Jon interrupted them. That was not conducive to his plan of not thinking about Arya. So instead he gave her a small wink and a nod to acknowledge her and then quickly broke eye contact. Thankfully there was enough going on around them to keep his attention off of her.

For Arya’s part, her thoughts weren’t on Theon that morning. At least not as much as his thoughts were on her. He was always there, in her mind, even if it was just background thoughts, but today she was centered on her family and the fact that part of it would be leaving her. For awhile she stood uncharacteristically quiet while her father stood talking with Robb and Jon. But it was hard waiting for her father to finish saying his good byes to her brothers and she turned to Sansa.

“I hope everything goes okay for you in King’s Landing.” She blurted out to her sister. She had no intention of having a long goodbye with Sansa, but she supposed she should offer her sister something. After all she didn’t know when the next time she would see her would be.

Sansa looked a bit surprised. “Oh, thank you.” There was an awkward silence. “I uh… I will miss you.”

Arya couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. “No you won’t.” She said.

Her sister couldn’t help but smile a little at that either. “No, I probably won’t.” She admitted. “But at the very least I might be a little bored without you. You do manage to make things a bit more exciting.”

Arya nodded in agreement. “I’ll probably be bored without you to annoy.” She paused a moment. “But you’ll be fine Sansa, you were born for this.” 

“To be Queen?” Sansa quirked an eyebrow, amused at her sisters expense.

Arya rolled her eyes. “I don’t know about that. But you’ll be able to fit in at Court. You were always better at all that stuff then I was.”

“Which is why you get to stay at home.” Sansa said, and even though she tried to hide it, there was a hint of sadness in her voice. “I cannot say that at least a small part of me wished I could stay too.”

“Don’t worry,” Arya patted her sister’s shoulder gently. “You’ll have father with you. I think he’ll have a harder time adapting then you.” She smiled at Sansa reassuringly. “It’ll be good that you’ll be there to help him.”

It was all the two seemed to be able to say to each other. To be honest, it was all they needed. They were never close, but they were still family, and there was still that love there. Even when Sansa married and became a Baratheon she would always be a Stark in Arya’s eyes. So they stayed quiet in each other’s company until it seemed that Lord Stark was ready to say goodbye to his youngest daughter. 

At the last second before Arya moved to go to her father’s side, Sansa grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Goodbye, Arya.”

Arya squeezed back, a small show of sisterly affection. “Goodbye.” In that moment for some reason, much like the same feeling she got back when she had been in the godswood the day of Bran’s accident, a small seed of fear sprouted in her stomach. Almost like she might never see her sister again. She gripped her sister’s hand, like she was afraid to let her go. She knew it was irrational, that she was overly worried about her family after what had happened to Bran, but the feeling was hard to shake. 

“Please, Sansa, promise me you’ll be careful.” She whispered. “The Southron ways are different then ours, remember where your from.” 

Sansa seemed to be taken aback by Arya’s words and wasn’t sure how to respond. All she could do was nod her head to let her sister know that she had heard and understood what Arya was trying to say. Finally she said, “Father’s waiting for you.” And slipped her hand away from her sister’s and then as an after thought, “stay safe Arya.” It seemed that some of Arya’s fear was creeping into her as well.

Arya simply nodded her head as she moved away from Sansa. It seemed Robb wanted a chance to say goodbye to their sister and he took the place that Arya had just vacated. When Arya reached her father, some of the fear she had been feeling subsided and she was able to give her father a small smile. “I wish you didn’t have to go.” She said simply.

“I wish I didn’t have to go.” Ned said quietly.

“How long do you think you’ll have to be gone?” Arya asked.

“I don’t know. For as long as the King needs me, I suppose.” Her father sighed. “But it won’t be long until we see each other.” He glanced over at his oldest daughter. “A wedding will have to be planned soon and you’ll have to travel South for that event.” He paused a moment and then looked at Arya. “Your mother is going to need your help. Much of her time will be spent with Bran, and when he wakes he’s going to need a lot of her care and attention.”

Dully, Arya nodded her head. “I know, I’ll do my best. I won’t let you down Father.”

Finally he allowed himself to smile, “I know, Little One.”

“My lord,” said a servant tentatively. He was loath to interrupt the goodbyes between father and daughter but he had a message from the King, that couldn’t wait.

Ned looked to the servant expectantly, “go ahead.” 

“The King says he’s ready to go.” The servant said. “He says he’ll be expecting the rest of your party shortly. I believe he’s in a hurry to get underway.”

“Of course.” Ned’s tone was reluctant, he hated having to leave his family behind, and it didn’t seem like he had a long enough time to say goodbye to his children. With a wave of his hand he dismissed the servant and looked back at his daughter.

Without waiting for him to say anything, she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug. “Goodbye, Father.”

The smile Ned wore was a sad one as he returned his daughter’s hug. “Goodbye, Little One.” Reluctantly he pulled away from her and turned to the rest of his children. He nodded once to Robb and ruffled Rickon’s hair, before beaconing Jon and Sansa join the rest of the traveling party. Arya managed to give Jon a small wave, they had already said their goodbyes when he had given her Needle. As Arya watched the three of them walk away she felt that her family had become incomplete and they hadn’t even left Winterfell yet.

—

Over the next few days things quieted down dramatically, now that King Robert and his entourage had left. There was still tension in the air because of Bran’s condition, he had still showed no signs of waking up. But otherwise things went back to some semblance of normalcy. Even the absence of Lord Stark and Sansa wasn’t felt as much as Arya had thought it would be. Robb had taken over the duties her father usually performed, and he did so with the ease one would expect of him. His father, after al,l had been preparing him for this exact thing all his life. Arya did what she could to help take over her mother’s role while Catelyn stood vigil by Bran’s side, but she found she wasn’t as well prepared for the job as Robb was for his. However a lot of the servants stepped up and helped her out. To put it simply, life went on despite the changes.

There was one change of note and that was that the remaining Stark children seemed to seek each other’s company out a bit more often then before. Almost as if they were holding on to each other as tight as possible in fear that they would be taken away from each other. Often times, Robb would make a point to have supper with Arya and Rickon, and by default Theon would join them.

It was at these meals that Arya felt the most complete. Robb and Theon would joke and talk with each other as if nothing was wrong, they resorted to teasing her a lot if only to lighten the mood. It seemed almost like old times, but there were Jon, Bran, and Sansa sized holes at the table, and Rickon seemed to lash out at every little thing that didn’t go his way. He seemed to have become a bit of a wild child without the calming influence of his parents.

“Something has to be done about his behavior.” Robb stated after one of Rickon’s more extreme dinner time tantrums. “Can you not do something about those tantrums of his?” He looked irritably at Arya. They could still hear the boy’s yells as he was being led away to his room by a servant.

Arya looked up at him, giving him her best ‘who me?’ look. “What am I supposed to do about it. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I know how to do all those womanly things, like take care of children.”

Theon snorted at this, the girl did have a point, he couldn’t see her as a calming influence for Rickon. “He won’t listen to Arya any better then he’ll listen to you.”

“He needs Mother,” Arya put in.

“That’s not really an option.” Robb slumped further down into his chair. “She won’t leave Bran’s side.”

Arya couldn’t help but frown a little, “doesn’t she know we need her too.”

“Do we really?” Robb looked at her, “we’ve gotten along without her just fine. Bran needs her more then we do.”

“But what about Rickon.” Arya challenged. “I can only do so much, he doesn’t recognize that I have any authority over him, we don’t have a Septa here anymore to help out since she went South, and Old Nan is too old to keep up with him.”

For the first time since Father had left, Robb looked tired. “I know, I know.” His voice sounded weary. “I’ve been putting it off, but I know I have to talk to Mother. I just don’t know how to get through to her that she has another son that needs her attention, maybe even more then Bran does.”

“I don’t believe it,” chuckled Theon, “Robb Stark is afraid of his mother.”

Arya couldn’t help but laugh as well. For a moment Robb just glowered at the two of them, before he felt his own lips twitch in amusement. “Shut up,” he finally said as he let a laugh escape, “the two of you, just shut up.” Thus causing the three of them to laugh even harder.

Once they caught their breaths, Robb insisted, “I’m not scared of her.” He paused, “I’m just worried that I’m going to have to force her to see that there’s really nothing she can do for Bran. That sitting there and staring at him isn’t going to make him open up his eyes.”

“Maybe she needs the distraction of looking after Rickon.” Arya offered.

“I doubt she’ll see it that way.” Robb said with a hint of frustration. The three of them sat there in silence for a moment, before Robb slowly stood up. “I guess now is a good a time as any.”

“Good luck,” said Arya with a hint of sympathy.

As they watched Robb walk out of the room, Arya realized that it was the first time since her father had left that her and Theon had been alone. Things hadn’t been strained between them, in fact he seemed to be quite friendly with her, much the same as they had been before the King’s visit. In fact everything was so normal that she had begun to wonder if she invented the intimacy she had felt between them. They hadn’t discussed what had happened, or what could have happened if Jon hadn’t caught them, and she didn’t dare to bring it up now on the chance that she had just made the whole thing up in her head. Instead she just followed his lead and acted normal.

After a few moments of silence. “How is your archery coming?” He asked as he looked down at the plate that had held his supper. He looked down at the remains of his food, hoping it would distract him of the fact that he was indeed alone with her. “Have you been practicing?”

“A little.” She mumbled, a little bit guilty that she hadn’t picked up a bow in the last three days.

He heard the guilt in her voice and gave her a sideways glance. “You know if you don’t practice, all my hard work will be for naught.”

She scoffed at this. “What do you mean all your hard work?”

“It’s just that,” he paused a moment for effect, “you’re incredibly difficult to teach. You’re strong willed, you don’t listen very well-“

She interrupted him by balling her hand in a fist and punching his arm as hard as she could. “Shut up.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at her as he rubbed the area that her fist had connected with. “That one almost hurt, Little Wolf.”

“I was holding back.” She said with a grin.

“Sure you were,” he countered.

They bantered back and forth for a little while as the servants cleaned up around them. Theon noted that he was comfortable around her and not overly concerned by the fact that he was spending time alone with her. In the back of his mind he still felt a little bit of attraction for her, but maybe he could control it and eventually get over her. 

The two of them had been laughing over something when Robb raced through the room, his face pale with concern. He barely looked at the two of them as he passed them, “there’s a fire in the library tower.” He managed to spit the words out, before he barged out the door that led to the outside.

Arya and Theon looked at each other, then quickly got up to follow Robb outside. Once they neared the library tower, they witnessed several of the keep’s men doing their best to fight the fire that had some how started in the library. While there was an underlying current of panic, everyone seemed to be working together to keep it at bay. Theon noticed Robb in the thick of things, and realized he too, should be doing his best to put the fire out.

“Stay here, I know you’re going to want to help, but just stay back so I don’t have to worry about you getting hurt too. Okay?” Theon said to Arya, who didn’t seem to be listening to what he was saying, her eyes wide as she watched part of her home burn. “Arya?” His tone was harsher then he would have liked, but he had to get through to her so he knew she would be safe.

She just nodded her head stiffly, and realizing that was the best answer he was going to get, he started off towards Robb, when he heard her call, to him. “Be careful!”

“I will,” was all that he said in response and then raced to help out.

Arya watched silently and wide eyed as people ran back and forth with buckets of water. The air was thick with the smell of burnt wood and smoke. She wondered how this could have even happened. Had someone been careless and left a candle lit? But who would be so stupid as to do that, in the library of all places. Her heart constricted in fear every time she saw Robb and Theon fighting the flames along with the other men who were working to douse it. She didn’t know what she would do if either of them got themselves hurt. 

The minutes wore on, and the fire seemed to be diminishing slowly, at least they had managed to contain it to the library tower. Arya longed to go and help fight it, but she had promised Theon to stay put. She looked down at her hands, they were shaking, she wasn’t sure she would be much help in the state she was in anyway. She was about to look back to the fire when something caught the corner of the eye. She turned to see who had stumbled out of the same door Robb, Theon, and herself had come from not long ago.

She was shocked to see her mother and watched as Catelyn crumpled to the ground. Arya raced to her mother’s side and as soon as she was there knelt down to see if she was okay. The first thing she noticed were that her mother’s hands were slick with blood and Arya could see that the source of the blood was some very wicked cuts on her mother’s hands.

Arya’s heart lurched in her chest. She thought this couldn’t possibly be happening. “Robb!” The scream ripped from her mouth as she clutched her mothers wrists so she could get a closer look at her mother’s wounds. “Hang on Mother, we’ll get you help. What happened?” Her voice was shaky and she wasn’t even sure of what she was saying as she saw just how deep the cuts were. Her mother had been cut almost to the bone.

Her mother seemed dazed, as if she didn’t know how she had gotten outside. Arya could only assume she was in shock. Hearing Arya’s voice seemed to lend some strength to Catelyn. She blinked once as if she was trying to focus on her daughters face. When she opened her mouth to talk, her voice was weak, “someone tried to kill Bran.”


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning when Catelyn stirred, her head was pounding and there was a searing pain coming from both her hands. Instantly she remembered what had happened the night before, the fire, the attack on Bran. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Arya sitting in a chair next to Cat's bed. She was curled up in the chair in an obvious uncomfortable position, yet she still slept. Catelyn realized her daughter must have stayed with her through the night.

She sensed that someone else was in the room and her eyes shifted, expecting to see Robb standing there. Instead she saw Theon Greyjoy leaning against the door frame, keeping vigil. But Catelyn noticed his attention was solely on her sleeping daughter. For the first time, Catelyn was not worried that the young man seemed too focused on Arya. She could tell that his sole purpose at the moment was to protect her. What had happened last night to Bran terrified her. Someone had gone after her family, and at the moment, it seemed Theon was hellbent on keeping at least one person in her family safe.

She shifted her focus back on Arya. Catelyn knew she had to get up, to check on Bran, to find out what had happened while she lay sleeping. She grimaced as she pushed herself up using her elbows, careful not to put much weight on her injured hands.

The movement must have gotten Arya's attention because she straightened up in her chair and leaned forward to help her mother sit up. "You're up."

Theon quickly took a step further into the room seeing that Lady Catelyn had awoken. "How are you my lady, is there anything you need?"

Catelyn looked to Theon and then back to Arya, "Bran? Is he okay?"

"He's okay." Arya reassured her quietly, "he hasn't woken up yet, but he's safe. Robb stayed with him all night, as a…as a precaution."

"What about Rickon, is everyone else okay?" There was clear worry painted in Catelyn's eyes.

Arya nodded her head, "everyone is fine. Except for you, does it hurt much?" She motioned to Catelyn's hands. "Do you need me to fetch Maester Luwin? He said there would be a lot of pain and that he could give you something for it."

"It hurts." Catelyn admitted, "but I don't need anything. I want my head clear. What happened last night?"

"Maybe Robb should tell you." Arya shrugged. "I'm not certain what happened. They wouldn't let me go inside Bran's room, and I've been with you the entire time. The fire was put out, but there was a lot of damage." She frowned, wishing she knew what to say to her mother, wishing she had some answers for what happened the night before. She looked over to Theon, "you should go get my brother. He'll want to know Mother is up."

For a moment Theon stood there, saying nothing, glaring at Arya. "I told you before, I'm not leaving. Robb told me to stay here and make sure nothing happened to the two of you. After what happened last night, I'm not about to disobey him."

Catelyn caught the annoyance in his tone and he wondered if the two had this same argument while she had been sleeping. She had no doubt that Arya might have resented the fact that Robb had thought she might need protection. She knew her daughter. She wasn't surprised when Arya let out a huff of frustration.

"I'm," she paused and then motioned to herself and her mother. "We're perfectly safe. I doubt anyone will try to get to us now that their first attempt to hurt my mother or Bran failed. Not to mention, I'm capable of holding off anyone who might try to hurt us. My lungs work perfectly well, I'll be able to call for help. And more importantly, Nymeria is with us."

Catelyn could hear the wolf whine in agreement with her master. She hadn't noticed Nymeria before, but her former worry over the creatures being too wild to have as pets no longer seemed to be a problem. She realized now that they were simply another line of defense for her children. She grimaced as she raised a hand to touch her daughter's arm with her finger tips, even that simply gesture was accompanied with agony. She looked to Theon, "it's okay Theon. Go get Robb, we need to discuss what happened." She knew that if she didn't intervene the two of them would bicker back and forth, Arya's stubbornness and Theon's need to prove his loyalty would keep them from getting anything done.

Again, a moment of silence ensued as Theon clenched his jaw, his lips forming a tight straight line. Catelyn could tell he was angry and frustrated that he could do nothing about it, the Lady had spoken after all. She also noticed that his eyes never left her daughter. It occurred to her, that him being there solely because Robb had ordered him to be there was a lie. Her voice was soft when she spoke again, perhaps she had been wrong about him and his intentions with Arya "Theon, you'll only be gone for a few moments, nothing will happen."

His voice was low as he tried to keep frustration from coloring his tone. "Of course my lady." His body language was stiff as he walked from the room.

"He's worried about you." Catelyn said quietly to Arya.

Arya scowled as she moved to help shift some pillows behind her mother, trying to make her more comfortable. "He stayed here, all last night. He was practically falling asleep on his feet. He was being stupid. I don't think Robb meant for him to stand watch the whole time. He could have gotten one of the guards to relieve him."

"He wanted to make sure the job was done properly, perhaps he felt he was the only one who could keep us safe." Catelyn watched her daughter carefully. "Someone tried to hurt a Stark last night, they got very close to it Arya. In our home." She said with emphasis. "You cannot blame him, him or Robb for wanting to protect us."

"I don't need protection." Arya said stubbornly. "I could have watched over us. Nymeria was here, and I'm not helpless."

"I know Arya," Catelyn said shifting again, trying to make herself comfortable. "But sometimes when people are scared for people they," she paused looking for the right word, "care about, they don't always think rationally. Their only thought is to protect those people."

"He was only here because Robb asked him to be." Arya shrugged off what Catelyn was saying. "I think he feels like he has to prove himself."

"You two have become close." Catelyn started. "It might be more then that."

"I doubt Then would lose sleep to watch over me." Arya said. "Like I said, Robb asked him to watch over the Lady of Winterfell, I was just an add on."

"If you say so." Catelyn said seriously. She wouldn't push the subject, she had more pressing things to be worried about then her daughter's blindness when it came to Theon.

They stayed quiet for a few moments after that. Catelyn leaned against the pillows Arya had propped up behind her and closed her eyes. She was still tired, and when she wasn't concentrating on conversation, the pain started to take over.

"Are you sure you don't want me to send for Maester Luwin?" Arya looked at her, concerned.

"I'm sure." Catelyn said tightly. "I'm of more use to my children when I'm clear headed."

Arya nodded her head, worry clearly still reflected in her features. "What exactly happened last night?"

"I'd like to know that too." Chimed in Robb as he entered the room, followed by Theon. He managed to offer his mother a tight smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll live." Catelyn said turning her attention to her eldest child. "Bran and Rickon, they're okay?"

"Yes. Rodrik is watching over them right now. I didn't leave them without protection." Robb said taking a seat on the bed by his mother. "What happened last night?"

"After you left, when the fire started," Catelyn started.

"We think it might have been deliberately set." Theon offered seriously, "as distraction."

Catelyn nodded her head to show she understood, "that man, whoever he was, he thought the room would be empty, that Bran would be alone. He had a dagger, and I just knew he came to hurt Bran. I tried to stop him, but…" She looked down helplessly at her bandaged hands.

"It's okay." Arya touched her shoulder, hoping to lend some strength to her mother.

"I know. Somehow Bran's wolf got there. He must have known Bran was in trouble." Catelyn shuddered a little at the remembrance of watching the beast savagely rip out the attackers throat.

"We saw." Robb said quietly as he glanced at Theon. They had been the first two people who had entered Bran's room. It was shocking how much blood there had been, it hadn't been a comfortable scene to see. The calmness of the wolf had been unsettling. When they had walked in, he was laying next to Bran as if nothing had happened.

Catelyn looked fiercely at Robb. "You make sure that wolf stays by his side." She looked to Arya, then back at Robb. "All of you keep them close."

"Of course." Robb agreed.

"Good." Cat said firmly. "Were you able to find anything about who did this."

Robb sighed in frustration. "He wore common clothing. We're not even sure where he's from. I didn't recognize him. The only thing of note he had on him was the dagger he carried."

"It wasn't a normal dagger." Theon said when he saw the confusion on Arya and Catelyn's face. "It was made of Valyrian steel."

"Those are rare," murmured Arya.

"Aye," Robb said. "None of the small folk would have one."

"So someone gave it to him." Catelyn said firmly.

"It would seem that way. He didn't look like someone who would have the means to own one." Robb said. "But who? And why would anyone want to hurt Bran?"

Catelyn bit her lip she had a few ideas about the who, but not the why. And she had no real proof, so she said nothing about her suspicions. "I don't know. But we must do something to find out." She moved to try and get out of bed. She was doing no good lying there and it wasn't as if her legs and feet were injured. "Help me up." Almost instantly Robb stood up and gently took his mothers arm and Theon came forward to help until she stood shakily on her feet.

"Do you think this wise?" Asked Robb. "You should rest."

Catelyn gritted her teeth. "I'm fine. Have you sent a raven to your father telling him what happened here?"

Robb nodded his head. "I sent one to King's Landing. But the raven will probably get there even before Father does. He should still be on the King's Road. He's only been gone a couple of weeks, it takes at least a month to get there."

"Then we must do what we can from here." Catelyn appeared determined carry on.

—

"You're hovering." Arya said grumpily as she made her way to the kitchens, she had missed her morning meal and her stomach had rumbled while talking with her mother.

"You shouldn't be alone." Theon said as he moved to walk beside her.

"I'm not." She looked pointedly at Nymeria.

Theon looked at the wolf too, knowing full well that Arya had a point. And yet here he was walking beside Arya, worrying that if he let her out of his sight, someone might come after her with a dagger too. He was doing so well too, putting the feelings he had for her aside. He could even be around her without getting all twisted around. Then someone had to attempt to hurt her brother, and his first thought had been 'what if it had been her?' Now, he had this undeniable need to make sure that nothing happened to her, and it seemed like all the hard work of suppressing his feelings had become undone. "Sorry, you're stuck with me." She would just have to deal with him shadowing her.

"Did my brother put you up to this?" Arya practically growled. "You know, you don't have to do everything he tells you to."

"Actually, I do." Theon rolled his eyes. "He's the Lord of Winterfell while your father is away. So if he told me to watch over you, that is what I would do." He shrugged his shoulders. "But he didn't tell me to, he thinks Nymeria is enough protection."

"Gods Theon, then why are you here?" She asked exasperated. "I'm perfectly capable of getting myself something to eat. I can take care of myself."

"I know that." He said with a chuckle.

"And you're still going to follow me around" She asked in disbelief.

"That's what I plan to do." He was completely nonchalant as he continued on towards the kitchens. He wasn't worried that he would get too far ahead of her, she would follow him. She was upset with him, and since she was upset with him she would view this as an argument, which she would want to win.

"Well, you'll have to change those plans, because I'm not going to allow it." She said as she trailed after him. "I'm not a child, I don't need to be looked after." She gripped his arm, forcing him to stop walking and he turned towards her. "I said it before, whoever it was that did this, they would be stupid to try to do anything now that the first attempt failed. They'll know we'll be on our guard."

"People have done stupider things." His grin was still firmly fixed upon his lips and it aggravated Arya. "You're not getting rid of me Little Wolf, get used to it."

She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose, he didn't seem to be taking her seriously. As much as she loved spending time with Theon, she wasn't sure how she felt about being around him constantly. What if things got weird between them again. She didn't want that to happen. "I could always sic Nymeria on you."

Theon raised an amused eyebrow. "Oh really?" For a long moment he looked at Arya, then he purposely looked at the wolf. "He leaned down slightly and put his hand on Nymeria's head, then scratched lightly around her ears. The wolf's tail waged in delight, as she nuzzled against him. "You're not going to scare me away girl, are you?"

Arya glared at her wolf. "Traitor." She muttered. Nymeria at least had the decency to look back at her guiltily as Theon once again stood to his full height. Arya brought her full glare back to him. "I'm sure you have better things to do with your time then to waste it on me. Why do you insist following me about?"

"Because you're too damn head-strong. You think you're invincible Arya Stark." He said.

She looked like she was about to say something, but he raised his index finger to her lips to hush her. In that simple gesture her breath hitched. For a moment it seemed like she couldn't think about anything other then his touch. She had even forgotten what she was going to say, that more than anything is what kept her quiet. Instead her wide eyes just focused on him.

When he realized she would stay quiet he dropped his hand back to his side. It seemed he didn't even realize how he had affected her, his tone was all seriousness. "The fact is, you are not invincible. Someone attacked your family, Arya. They went after the Stark they knew would be alone, the most vulnerable, the one who couldn't fight back. This time they went after Bran. But, what if there is a next time, what if they decided you would be the vulnerable one. You go places alone, you're always wandering the Godswood. You may have Nymeria with you, but what if they have a bow? What if they find away to lure her away from you?" He gave her a small little smirk. "Humor me Little Wolf. Let me look after you."

Willing herself to recover from that little encounter, she extended her lower lip into a small, fake pout, hoping she could mask what ever this reaction to him was. "Do you have to be with me at all times though?"

Again a chuckle escaped him, "no, I suppose not. I'm not sure I could handle that much of you all the time." He paused a moment, as if he was giving something some serious thought. "How about this, if you are here, within the buildings or the main courtyard, anywhere where there are people, I'll leave you alone. Just promise me you won't leave Winterfell's walls without someone, without me." He emphasized.

She canted her head to the side an amused smirk of her own gracing her lips. "Why does it have to be you? Couldn't I ask one of men at arms?"

Theon shrugged his shoulders, "because I don't trust anyone else to do the job properly. Jon and your father are not here and Robb is too busy. Those are the only people I would trust to your safety right now. So that leaves me. Now promise me."

"But what if you're too busy?" She asked smiling a bit too innocently.

His smirk hardened down to a frown. Now she was just being difficult. "I'll make time." He gave her a hard look, he was becoming a little impatient with her now. "Now promise me, or I'll be your constant shadow."

Seeing that he had become more serious, she decided not to see how far she could push him. "I promise Theon, I won't go anywhere without you."

He studied her for a moment, making sure she showed no signs of deceit. He could see none, at least not at the moment, and he hoped she wouldn't be foolish enough to go back on her word, that she would realize it could be dangerous for her right now. "Okay. Good." He allowed his smile to come back. "Then let us get you some breakfast Little Wolf."

—

Later that afternoon, Theon found himself walking the halls of Winterfell alone. He seemed restless, like he had something that needed to be done, but he didn't know what it was. He had a suspicion it had to do with the fact that Arya was not in his immediate vicinity, that he couldn't be absolutely sure that she was okay. He knew that theoretically she was fine. She had only gone to get some rest, to make up for what she lost last night while she watched over her mother, but still he worried. Eventually he found his way up to Bran's room, where Robb sat, watching over his still sleeping brother.

Robb looked up when he entered, and Theon could tell the situation was wearing on him. No one had gotten much sleep the night before, but Robb looked even more haggard then anyone else. "You look terrible." Theon said by way of greeting.

"Thanks." Robb deadpanned.

"Have you gotten any rest?" Theon asked.

"No." Was Robb's simple answer.

Theon could tell he didn't want to talk, it seemed like Robb had the weight of the Seven Kingdoms on his shoulders. He couldn't offer his friend any answers, so he stayed quiet. He supposed the least he could do was offer him support even if it was just standing quietly by waiting to see if Robb would need anything. Well maybe standing around doing nothing wasn't the easiest thing for Thoen to do. He felt he should be doing something. He would stay with Robb, but he would pace while he was doing it.

It went on that way for a few moments. Theon walking from one end of the room, to another, absent mindedly stopping to pick up, studying, then putting back down various things Bran had scattered around his room. Robb sat stoically in a chair at the foot of his brother's sick bed, it appeared he was watching over Bran, but in actuality his mind was focused on the problems that seemed to plague Winterfell.

Eventually Theon's restlessness seemed to grate on Robb's calm. "Would you sit still." He snapped at his friend.

Theon stopped moving around, and quirked an eyebrow at Robb. "Of course, sorry my lord." The words had been polite, but he had used a tone that let Robb know he wasn't pleased the way Robb had spoken to him.

For a moment there was silence as Robb glared at Theon, but it didn't take long for Robb to let out an exhausted sigh and for his glare to soften. He realized that Theon probably felt just as helpless as he did right now. "Forgive me, that was rude."

Theon shrugged it off. "It doesn't matter. We're both on edge." He was about to say more, but promptly shut his mouth when Catelyn rushed into the room with purpose, followed by Ser Rodrik and Maester Luwin.

She looked to Robb, seemingly relieved that she had found him. Then she looked to Theon, surprised to see him standing there. "Where is Arya? Why aren't you with her?"

"She's, um…she was tired, so she went to rest, my lady." Theon was wide eyed with surprise. Why would she assume that he would know where Arya was or that he would even be with her? She looked concerned at his answer, and then he realized she must be worried for her daughter's safety. "Nymeria is with her." He added quickly to reassure her.

She nodded her head briskly to show that she understood. "It's probably best anyway. With her temper I don't know how she would react."

"React to what, Mother?" Robb asked as he stood up from the chair and motioned for Catelyn to sit. While she seemed to be moving around find, it was clear that her body was still reacting to the pain of her injuries. Robb hadn't realized how strong his mother was.

She nodded to Rodrik and with a quick glance out in the hall to make sure no one was around, he closed the door to the room firmly.

"What I am about to tell you, cannot leave these four walls." She looked seriously at each one of the men in the room and she waited for each one of them to nod their head to show that they understood. Once she was satisfied she lowered her voice to just barely a whisper, the others had to strain to hear her. "I don't think Bran falling was an accident."

"You think someone pushed him off the tower." Robb said. It was a statement, not a question, with someone attempting to kill Bran the night before, the thought had crossed his mind that it hadn't been the first time. That there had been something more to the story of his little brother's accident.

"It would make sense. Bran has always been sure footed. He had probably climbed that tower more times then any of us even know." The Maester put in.

Theon nodded his head, he had seen first hand how easily Bran had scaled the tower wall. "But why would anyone want to hurt him. He's a child."

"That is where things get complicated." Catelyn said grimly. "He must have heard something he should not have, or seen something." She shook her head. "I don't know what, but it must have been something damning for someone to try and kill a child to keep it hidden."

"You have a suspicion of who it might be." Robb said realizing there was a certainty in his mother's eyes.

"Before your father left, I received a raven from my sister Lysa. She believes that Jon Arryn found something that the Lannisters wanted to keep secret. She believes her husband was poisoned, that the Queen might some how have been responsible." Catelyn informed them.

"But why would she kill Bran, my lady?" asked Ser Rodrik.

"Like I said before, what if he saw something, or heard something that might have implicated the Lannisters in Lord Arryn's death." Catelyn shrugged.

"Forgive me, my Lady," Maester Luwin spoke up, "but that isn't a lot to go on."

It seemed that the Lady Catelyn was ready for that argument. "Today I went to the tower that Bran fell from. I found this." She held her a hand awkwardly, the bandages around her palms were stained with blood. She had probably been moving them too much, aggravating to wounds. But her fingers seemed to be fine, and pinched between her index finder and thumb was a single long, blond hair. It matched the length and coloring of the Queen's hair.

The moment that followed was silent and the air was thick with tension as they realized the ramifications of what she had found. Theon was the first to break it. "It makes sense," he said quietly.

Catelyn looked over to where Theon stood. "What do you mean?"

"Princess Myrcella came to say good bye to Arya a couple of days before leaving Winterfell." Theon said, he remembered that day quite well. "The Princess had said she was supposed to spend time with her mother the afternoon Bran fell. But Queen Cersei had complained of a head ache and sent Myrcella away with the excuse that she wanted to rest. The Queen would have had a whole afternoon alone, no one could possibly know what she had been up to."

Theon noticed that Catelyn's gaze had gone hard, and he thought that maybe she was upset with him for not coming to her sooner with this information. "I am sorry, my lady, I didn't realize it was important, so I didn't say anything."

"No, it's okay." She said, her voice hard. "How could you have known. But it does seem that it is more evidence pointing in her direction."

"But what are we to do about it?" Robb asked, he looked thoughtful, as he realized that ultimately the decision would come down to him.

"I advise you to use caution." Luwin said, his voice serious. "As damning as this evidence may seem, it is all still circumstantial. Do the wrong thing and you could start a war. She is still the Queen, if we aren't certain before we accuse her, if we cannot prove she is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, it is treason."

"We cannot just sit by and do nothing." Theon complained.

"No, I know that." Robb murmured.

"Your father should be told at the very least," said Luwin.

"We cannot send a raven. We don't know when he would get it, and we don't know who else might see it." Robb said. "I should leave for King's Landing immediately. Who knows, maybe I could even catch up to Father on the King's Road. A lone rider can travel faster then the large party he's traveling with."

"I'll go with." Theon put in, already heading for the door, already thinking of the preparations he would have to make. But he was abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"No." Cat's tone was firm, leaving no room for argument. "Robb, you cannot go. A Stark must always be in Winterfell."

"The Lady is right." Rodrik put in. "And if the acting Lord of Winterfell left, well let's just say that's something people will notice. Right now the Lannisters don't know we suspect something, that's probably our biggest advantage. It would be suspicious if you left home, Lord Stark, they would know that something had caused you to leave. The Lannisters are not stupid, they would guess correctly about what it was."

Catelyn nodded her head in agreement. "I will go."

All four men looked to her in amazement. "What about Bran?" Robb asked.

"I have done what I can for him. I have prayed to the Seven, I have sat by his side for weeks." She said in frustration. She hated leaving her son's side, but she knew it had to be done. "I have to do what I can to protect the rest of the family now."

"But your injuries," Luwin started.

"You can pack me extra bandages and whatever else I need to keep infection at bay." Catelyn said. "And you can give me potions that will mask the pain when I'm riding." And when she saw there would be more objections, she simply said, "you're not going to talk me out of this."

Rodrik frowned at the thought of her going, "if that's the way it is to be, my lady, fine. But at least allow me to go with you. The King's Road is not safe for a woman to travel alone."

Catelyn simply nodded her head in acceptance to his offer. "Then we leave as soon as everything is prepared."

Reluctantly all four of them nodded their heads in agreement. The Lady had spoken after all. Luwin and Rodrik were the first to leave the room. Robb gave his mother one unhappy glance, but then rested his hand on her shoulder, and gave it a small squeeze. He knew that this was something she felt she had to do, even if he didn't like it. Then silently he left the room.

Theon had been about to follow his friend out, when Catelyn spoke to him. "Theon Greyjoy, you had better take care of my little girl."

He paused a moment, stunned at her words, he turned to her and gave her a firm nod. "Um, of course, my lady." And with that, he left her to say her silent good byes to Bran.

—

It had been several days since Catelyn Stark had left Winterfell. There had been much rumor and speculation as to why she had left so suddenly. Arya had been furious that she hadn't been told that her mother was leaving. Not only that, she had been hurt because her mother hadn't said goodbye to her. To make matters worse Robb had been vague about the true reason for Catelyn's disappearance. He had said it would be better for her if she didn't now. She knew that Theon knew, and it irked her even more that he was just as tight lipped with the information as her brother. She hated being kept in the dark.

Arya did not make those days since Cat's departure easy on those around her. She was full of glares and harsh words to those who were keeping secrets from her. She avoided Theon altogether, but she had kept her promise of not leaving Winterfell's walls without him. So she restricted herself to the keep and its court yard. In fact, she seemed to spend a lot of time in Bran's room, watching him sleep.

It sometimes got boring, sitting there with nothing to do. At least nothing she really wanted to do, she tried reading and one time had even pulled out her dreaded needle point. She was too suborn to seek out the company of Robb or Theon. She had resolved to stay angry with them for as long as she could. Often times she would find herself nodding off to sleep while staring at Bran's pale face.

One night, she was doing exactly that, when Nymeria who was always by her side, and Bran's wolf who rarely left Bran's room started to whine. Upon hearing the wolves, she sat straight up, realizing that she had almost fallen asleep. Outside she could hear Grey Wind howl loudly, and there was a howl coming from the direction of Rickon's room as well, Shaggy Dog was agitated too. Arya blinked at the strange behavior, the wolves seemed to be on edge tonight. She couldn't help but be nervous by that. She remembered Nymeria acting strangely the day that Bran fell from the tower.

"What is it girl?" Asked Arya, she could hear the fear in her own voice.

Nymeria answered with a bark, that was followed by one from Bran's wolf as well. She turned her attention to her brother's wolf and saw that he had jumped up on Bran's bed, standing protectively over his master. Arya stood up, grabbing her Needle. She had taken to carrying the sword with her at all times. If only to make her feel safe. She looked to the open door of Bran's room, to see if anyone would come storming in.

It was then that she heard a small hoarse whisper coming from the bed. "Summer," was all the voice said. She turned to look at the still form of her brother. The only change she could see, was that his eyes were open. And in that instant she let her sword clatter to the ground. A slow smile started to spread across her face. Bran had woken up.


	8. Chapter 8

Arya slipped quietly into Winterfell's main hall, where Robb was greeting guests. She hadn't been aware that they were expecting any, so she was surprised when she saw Tyrion Lannister and some of his house guards standing before her brother. She had remembered that he had ventured to the Wall with her Uncle Benjen and Jon's party, he must be making his return trip to the South. She assumed he was here to ask her brother for his hospitality, but Arya could tell the feeling in the air was tense. Something seemed to be wrong, she could tell just by looking at Robb's face. He looked downright hostile when he looked at Tyrion. Without a word she moved stand respectfully behind Robb.

Tyrion took the moment to break away from the intense glare Robb had been sending his way. "Lady Arya," Tyrion nodded a respectful greeting to her.

Arya offered him a small smile, unsure if she should take her brother's lead on how she treated him. She had no problem with the man. "It's good to see you are well, Lord Tyrion."

With that he looked back at Robb, "it seems not all of the Starks have lost their manners. I remember a warmer welcome only a few weeks ago. Have I done something to offend?"

Instead of answering, Robb continued to remain formal said, "I offer you the hospitality of Winterfell for as long as you require." The words felt rehearsed, like he was only saying them because he was expected to say them. Arya had a feeling from the way Robb was acting that allowing Tyrion to spend any amount of time at Winterfell was the last thing he wanted to do.

"How generous." Tyrion commented. "And Lady Stark, how is she? I would have expected her to greet me herself."

"She is sick and cannot receive anyone." Robb said and Arya looked at him confused as to why her brother would lie.

Arya's look was not lost on Tyrion, "yes, well, then give your mother my well wishes," he said in such a way that showed he in no way believed Catelyn was sick. He looked like he wanted to say more but kept his mouth shut when a large man walked in carrying Bran, then followed closely by Theon.

Arya was surprised to see Bran out of his bed. He hadn't left it in days, even after he had woken up. He was sulky and moody and Arya didn't spend much time with him. She couldn't blame his mood. The fall had done much damage to his body, the maester said he would never walk again. He had dreamed of becoming a knight, and now those dreams would never be fulfilled. She felt slightly guilty for not spending much time with him. Especially after she had spent so much time with him before he awoken. But it was hard having to look him in the eye when he he was so sad. That, and he often took his anger and frustration out on those around him.

"So, you are awake!" Tyrion said with a smile that Arya could tell was genuine. "Your brother Jon told me that you had finally opened your eyes." He paused a moment, it seemed it was awkward for him to look up at Bran. "Would you mind asking your friend to lower you, so I can talk to you down here?"

Bran frowned, it seemed he rather be anywhere but there at the moment. His voice was sullen when he looked at who held him. "Hodor, kneel down." Hodor complied immediately.

"Ahh, much better." Tyrion said. "Jon asked me to give you a message. He's very relieved that you have woken up. And he wishes he could be here for you."

"Thank you." Was Bran's only reply.

"Now I was wondering, do you remember anything that happened when you fell?" Tyrion asked curiously.

Arya shifted her attention to Robb, who seemed to tense up even more when the question was asked. They both knew that Bran remembered nothing. Robb couldn't seem to drop the subject, and always seemed to ask if he remembered anything. It was almost like he didn't think Bran had fallen by accident. She frowned slightly as things suddenly started to click within her mind. That was exactly Robb thought, that Bran had been pushed. Was that the reason her mother left so suddenly? Then Arya looked at Tyrion, did her brother think that he was the one who had done the pushing? That would be absurd, impossible even. She wasn't sure the dwarf would even have the power to do something like that to her brother. At least not by himself, could he have gotten someone to do it for him? Then why would he return here? She brought her eyes level to Theon, who it had been watching her, he had seen the wheels turn in her head. He had a feeling things were starting to click into place for her. She seemed to question him with her eyes. He knew what she wanted to know. He shook his head slightly to show that she shouldn't ask about anything right now, not in front of their company. She furrowed her brow in frustration and then turned her attention back to Bran and Tyrion's conversation.

"No, I don't remember anything." Bran said, his voice still petulant.

"That is a shame." In Arya's ears, Tyrion seemed sincere when he uttered those words. If he didn't do it, did he have some idea of who it might have been? "I do come with a gift for you, Lord Bran." The smile had returned to Tyrion's face.

There had been a flash of excitements in Bran's eyes when he heard that. It warmed Arya's heart to see it, even if it was only for a brief moment. "Really? What is it?" Bran asked.

"Tell me, do you like to ride horses?" Tyrion asked.

Bran's face fell, "I can't ride anymore."

"And why not?" Tyrion motioned to one of his guards, who handed him a roll of parchments. "With the right saddle, and the right horse, if trained properly to follow commands with the reins and verbal queues, you can ride again." He handed Bran the papers. "Give these plans to your saddle maker. I'm sure in a few weeks time, you'll be riding again."

Bran opened the rolled parchments, Arya shifted slightly to try to get a peek at what was on them. From her vantage point she could see what she thought might be some drawings that had been made by Lord Tyrion. She supposed they were plans for a saddle that would suit Bran. With this show of kindness, it was hard to think that Tryion had anything to do with Bran falling. Unless of course he felt guilty. Another stab of suspicion coursed through her. She looked to Robb to see he reaction.

His face was still hardened, but Robb's eyes seemed to soften a little at seeing his brother's spirits rise when he saw what Tyrion had given him. He still did not trust the dwarf, but he did seem a little less hostile when he opened his mouth. "Lord Tyrion, you have given my brother a great gift. Consider the hospitality of Winterfell at your full disposal, I shall have rooms prepared for you immediately."

"Oh, no don't concern yourself about me. I'm sure I'll find more welcoming rooms elsewhere." Tyrion still could tell that he wasn't welcome, he had spent most of his life feeling that way. It was obvious that they were lying to him, the Lady Catelyn was not at Winterfell. He wondered what had made the Starks so angry, with him, in particular. He would not be comfortable under the scrutiny of this northern lord. At least he was able to give some hope to Bran. There was at least one Stark who didn't loathe the sight of him. "We shall take our leave now." And without so much as a goodbye he started to leave the hall.

Robb looked relieved as he watched the Tyrion walk out. He did like that man anywhere near his family, especially when he suspected the Lannisters had already tried to hurt one of them. He looked to where Hodor still knelt with Bran, who was still looking intently at the plans that Tyrion had given him. He looked thoughtful as he saw the interest in his brother's eyes. It was the first time he had seen that sort of spark in Bran since he had woken up. He was about to stand up and join his brother in studying the plans when felt Arya closer to his chair. She no doubt had questions about what she had just witnessed, he still hadn't told her the truth about what he and his mother thought might have happened with Bran. He didn't want to have to deal with that right now.

"Arya, we'll talk later." He said maybe a little more shortly then he intended. He looked to her and saw that she was about to protest, but he held up a hand and gave her a little smile, hoping to keep her calm. "I promise. I just want to attend to Bran right now. Look at how happy he is."

Arya wanted to huff, and complain about being pushed aside so easily. But she looked to where Bran was and saw that a little life had returned to his eyes. She let out a sigh in resignation. "Fine." She had noticed Theon walk off after Tyrion, he would probably be an easier target to get some information from anyway. She offered Robb a small, reassuring smile, and moved to follow Theon.

"Arya," Robb said before she could go on her way. "Stay close, okay. I don't want you wandering on your own, at least for a couple of days. Even if you have Nymeria with you."

She gave him a level stare. "You mean until we know Tyrion Lannister is far away from Winterfell." She didn't give him a chance to respond, she just wanted to let him know that she wasn't stupid, that she had figured out at least in part what was going on. Even if they had tried so hard to keep it from her. And just as she was about to walk out of the hall, she called back to her brother, "don't worry, I'll be careful."

—

Theon was in no hurry to follow after Tyrion, but he did want to make sure the man left like he said he was going to. Theon didn't trust him, the man just being in the same room with people Theon cared about put him on edge. He didn't care how many good intentions the man seemed to have. So he found himself in the court yard just as the Lannister party was preparing to depart.

Tryion seemed to be in a foul mood, no doubt due to the treatment he had just received from Robb. When he caught sight of Theon, his mood hadn't improved and his words were sarcastic. "Well, if it isn't the Stark's young ward." He didn't seem to care who he took his mood out on. "Tell me, what would Balon Greyjoy say if he saw his only surviving son so subservient to Eddard Stark's family?"

"I don't really know what you would say. I don't properly know him, now do I?" Theon glowered at him, he knew Tyrion was goading him and he refused to rise to the occasion.

"Then enlighten me as to why you allow yourself to be like a faithful dog to them?" Tyrion could see Theon's face redden with anger, and he saw that the young man's hands were balled into fists. Then his eyes were drawn to the slight figure of Arya Stark who had seemed to follow Theon outside. "Ahh," he said with a knowing little smirk, he remembered how Theon watched after her, so many weeks ago. "Wait, never mind I now understand why."

Still scowling, Theon followed Tyrion's gaze, and seeing Arya, he managed to soften his expression a tiny bit. He still felt a anger towards Tyrion, but he Would at least try to keep his insults to a minimum, lest she might get the idea to join in and further insult the Imp. "What are you doing here?" He asked her as she stepped up next to him.

Arya gave him a look that said she didn't particularly like having to answer to him. "I have some things I wanted to discuss with you." Then she turned her attention to Tyrion as he was helped upon his horse. "Where will you stay Lord Tyrion?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find the local whorehouse will be much more accommodating then here." He answered her in a manner that he was sure to get a rise out of any of proper lady. It may have been childish to try to anger either of them, but he was annoyed with the Starks, and he was not happy with how he was treated, especially by ones who he considered to be children. He was surprised and admittedly impressed when Arya didn't give him any reaction at all.

Instead she just shrugged her shoulders. "Enjoy yourself."

Tyrion couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth twitch into almost a smile. "I'm sure I will my lady."

"You should ask for Ros," Theon blurted out. He wanted nothing more then to get this man away from Winterfell and he would do just about anything to make that happen, even if it meant giving him advice about prostitutes. He missed the glare Arya had sent his way.

Tyrion however didn't, and he wasn't about to miss his chance to make a little trouble. "And why is that?"

"She's the best…" he trailed off as he realized what exactly he was saying and who he was saying it in front of. He hazarded a glance at Arya, he didn't miss the disgust in her eyes.

Tyrion couldn't help but chuckle a little and then reached into his coin purse to pull out a gold piece. "I apologize if I caused any problems. I'm generally in a bad mood when I'm treated poorly." Theon looked at him, clearly unhappy with the way things had happened. Tyrion tossed him a gold coin, he just couldn't help himself as he said, "your next visit to Ros is on me."

Theon caught it, despite his frustration. He said nothing, but his eyes were full of anger.

"Come." Tyrion was still smirking as he talked to the guards who accompanied him, "let us leave these two to their lover's quarrel." Without another word he started all of them on their way.

Theon watched after him red faced with anger and full of embarrassment. "I think I might actually hate that man." He muttered, more to himself then to Arya.

"So who's Ros?" Arya looked at him, and he really couldn't tell if she was angry, disappointed, or digested with him. She wasn't even sure how she felt about him in that moment. Probably an assortment of all three and maybe, just maybe, there was a little hurt mixed in. She didn't know why she was feeling like this, she knew he had frequented the brothel, but she hadn't really noticed him doing so as of late. She had thought maybe he had given it up.

He gave her a bit of a frown. "Do you really want to talk about this my lady?"

"Not really, no." She answered quietly, she didn't want to know anything about that part of his life, she had a feeling it would hurt her more then it should. She hated how vulnerable she might have sounded as she said that.

He turned away from her, looking at her accusing eyes was difficult. "I stopped going there weeks ago." His voice was just as quiet. "I don't know why I even brought up her name, I just wanted to get rid of him. I thought giving him a name of a girl might make him leave faster. I realize just how stupid that sounds now."

Arya nodded, a ping of relief had touched her heart with his words. "It was stupid."

"Trust me, I do a lot of stupid things." Theon admitted.

Arya nodded her head in agreement, then stood there awkwardly for a moment. She shifted her weight from one foot to another. Neither of them seemed to be comfortable with this conversation. She figured it might just be best to get on with the conversation she originally wanted to have. "Why were you trying to get rid of him anyway?" Arya frowned. "Why was Robb so unwelcoming to Tyrion?" She looked at him expectantly. "I know this has something to do with why mother left." Then she lowered her voice even more. "Did he have something to do with Bran? Do you and Robb think he did it?"

Theon looked at her concerned by what she had seemed to figure out on her own. He didn't know what to say to her, should he confirm what she suspected. What would Robb want him to say to her? They had been concerned that she would do something stupid if she knew their suspicions. It was one of the reasons Lady Stark didn't want them to tell her, at least not at first. And now with Tyrion within her reach, would she try and take matters into her own hands?

She canted her head to the side as she looked at him, "I'll take your silence as an affirmative." She said quietly.

"Arya," Theon said carefully. "You're not thinking of doing anything stupid, are you?"

Her lips pressed tightly together in a thin line. Her first reaction would be to go and ask Tyrion what exactly he had done and if she didn't like the answers he gave, she would probably try to hurt him.

Theon saw her face and was worried that she really would do something stupid. He took a step toward her and grabbed her arms. He held on to her tightly, so that she would be forced to look at him and wouldn't be able to get away. His voice was a fierce whisper, he needed to get it through her head just how bad of an idea doing anything would be. "We do not know if it was Tyrion, we only suspect the Lannisters, we're just not sure which one of them did it. And you cannot go around throwing accusations like that around."

She looked like she wanted to argue with him, but she wasn't stupid, she knew he was right. For a moment she said nothing, emotions warring within her. It felt wrong not to do anything. "I'm supposed to do nothing? Just sit here as if everything is okay, while someone who potentially hurt my family is down at that whorehouse rutting around like a pig?" She spat.

"I know it's difficult Little Wolf." He still hadn't let go of her. "But your mother has gone to tell your father. That's why she left. He'll know what to do. The best we can do is wait for directions from him. We don't want to risk starting a war."

She hated that he made sense. "I know I can't do anything Theon, I just hate it."

"Just have patience." He said as he slid his hands down the length of her arms to her hands. He held them for a moment, trying to give her some comfort and then squeezed them lightly before letting go.

—

For Arya the days seemed to pass a bit slowly. Tyrion had only spent the one night at the brothel. All of them had breathed a sigh of relief when he left and there had been no further incidents. Robb was still weary for their safety, he didn't know if Tyrion Lannister would have made arrangements for another attack like the one against Bran the night of the fire. So some of Arya's freedoms had been taken away. She could no longer roam outside the keep's walls, with or without Theon for protection. And she was not happy about that.

With her free time, she found herself in the practice yard swinging her Needle at a practice dummy or with archery practice. Sometimes Bran would be there, doing his lessons with Maester Luwin. And sometimes Theon would be there giving her pointers on her form with archery and sometimes joining in. Nymeria was her one constant companion. On this particular afternoon, Theon was practicing, and Arya was sitting around watching him while she listened in on Bran's lesson.

The lesson seemed to be about the major Houses in Westeros, a lesson that Arya herself had to sit through many, many times. She could probably say each houses sigils, their words and where they were seated in her sleep. She thought Bran knew them as well, but it seemed he was intent on being difficult today. So far he hadn't got much right.

"What is the sigil for House Greyjoy?" Asked Luwin of Bran.

"The Kraken." Was Bran's bored reply.

"Where is their seat?" Luwin questioned.

"Pyke." Bran said as he looked over to Theon.

"Good, now their words?" Luwin continued.

"Unbowed, unbent, unbroken." Bran said not really paying attention to what he was saying.

"Wrong, those are the Martell's words. The words of House Greyjoy are," Lewin said, and before he could continue, Theon interrupted him.

"We do not sow," Theon said with an arrogant smile, "and we're known for our skill in archery, navigation…" He wanted to say more, something of a crude nature, about their prowess in bed, but his eyes wandered to Arya. Saying something like that would probably not impress her and only remind her that he had at one time frequented a prostitute by the name of Ros. So instead he finished with something just as arrogant but more tame, "and handsome men."

For her part Arya just rolled her eyes as she watched Theon pluck another arrow and line up a shot. When he let the arrow go, he of course hit the target with ease. Once he was done he looked over to her as if to say, I told you so. Which only earned him another eye roll. She hopped down from where she sat and wondered how well he would shoot if he were distracted.

Theon just smiled, picked up another arrow and started to line up another shot. It took him a moment to decide where he wanted to place it. The target was already littered with arrows that he had already shot, most near the center. She took the time he was using to prepare, to creep up behind him as quietly as she could. Apparently it worked, because he hadn't sensed her while he concentrated on what he was doing. She grinned a little as she rested her hands on his waist and quickly raised herself on her tiptoes. She leaned in closer to him, so her mouth was near his ear and then whispered. "Better not miss!"

It was true he hadn't suspected anything from her, at least not until her hands had touched him. That alone would have been a little off putting. But then he felt her breath on his ear and neck as she she whispered to him. Almost instantly his body reacted and he shivered under her distractions. He lost focus on what he was doing. He let loose the arrow too soon, and as a result didn't even hit the target. He didn't care, the only thing he seemed to be able to concentrate on, were her tiny hands, which she hadn't yet removed from the sides of his waist and she was still breathing in his ear.

"I don't think that arrow landed where you wanted it to." She whispered in his ear before she lowered herself from the tips of her toes. There was a bit of a teasing laughter in her voice, that just made her seem all the more attractive to him.

He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down a bit. This girl was going to kill him, he decided. He lowered his bow carefully. He opened his eyes, and slowly turned around to look at her as her hands dropped from his sides. They were still very close to each other, but least she wasn't touching him any more, maybe he could think a bit more clearly. He did notice that impish little smile playing upon her lips. He hated that smile, and loved it at the same time. His voice was husky when he spoke, and a look of desire clearly in his eyes. "You don't play fair my lady."

"You were being arrogant. You needed to be taken down a peg." She answered simply.

He quirked an eyebrow, "is that so?"

"Yes," she said simply and then took a step away from him, a playful smile tugging at her lips as she turned her attention back to Bran and the Maester.

Theon watched as she turned from him and he worried that she knew exactly what she was doing. Perhaps she had figured out that he was attracted to her on some level, and she had used that to her advantage. He would be damned if he didn't admit that he was a little impressed with her. "Don't think you've gotten away with this." He said quietly from behind her. "I'll find a way to pay you back in kind."

It almost seemed like a promise and she wondered what exactly his pay back would be. She was on the cusp of asking him when the wolves, Nymeria and Summer, who had been lazing at Bran and the Maester's feet, started to whine pitifully. It almost seemed as if they were crying over something. Theon, Luwin, Bran, and Arya looked confused as they looked down to the wolves, who were now standing and looking to where Winterfell's gates were. It seemed as if that was where they wanted to go.

The Maester stood up as quickly as his old bones would allow. "Something must be wrong. Come Bran, let us get you inside, and maybe we can figure out what is going on."

Summer whined again, and Nymeria simply trotted a little way towards the main court yard and then looked back at the rest of them, as if to say she wanted them to follow. "I think they want us to go with." Muttered Bran.

Luwin looked like he wanted to object, but Theon simply called out to Hodor, who was never too far away from Bran. It took few moments before the gentle, big man came around the corner of a building, eager to help. "Hodor, grab Bran and follow us." He knew that Arya would agree with Bran, and she would insist that all of them follow the wolves. He didn't want to waste time by having her argue with the Maester about what was going to happen, when in the end Arya would get her way, one way or another. "It's better this way," Theon said to Luwin when it seemed like he was going to disagree.

"He's right, the wolves always seem to know when something is wrong, and they'll protect us anyway." Arya put in with a tone that said nothing would change her mind.

Theon just gave Luwin a shrug and a look that said, 'I told you so.' For a moment the Maester said nothing, a fleeting look of concern touching his features. He hadn't noticed how well the young Greyjoy boy had come to know and understand Arya in the past few weeks. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He would have to keep an eye on the two. Finally, he just nodded his head in agreement that they should go and see what the problem in the main court yard was.

It didn't take them long to get there and Arya wasn't at all surprised to see that Robb was already there with Grey Wind and Shaggydog, Rickon was there hiding behind Robb's cloak. Arya stepped next to him. "What is it?"

Robb didn't look at her, instead he watched as a wagon with two men riding upon it, approach them. "I don't know. The wolves seem to be restless though. That always makes me nervous."

Arya nodded her head. Every time something major was about to happen to one of them, the wolves seemed to sense it was coming. It kind of frightened her a little to think of the connection the wolves had to them. It almost seemed supernatural. And she had always been taught that those kinds of things didn't exist. Everyone was silent as the wagon grew closer and the wolves became more agitated. Finally it stopped before them, and the wolves let out a low howl, that made Arya shiver, because it sounded so sad, and that the howl seemed to be so in sync.

"Lord Robb," said one of the men on the wagon, "your father sent me with grim tidings." It was then that Arya realized she recognized the man who had spoken. It was one of the guards that Eddard had taken with him when he left for King's Landing. She cast a worried glance at Robb, considering what had been going on at Winterfell, she was certain that the worst had happened.

"Is Sansa okay?" She blurted out before anyone else could say anything more.

For a moment the man said nothing, and Arya was getting frustrated with his silence. He looked to Arya, then to Robb, "aye, she's okay. Except for maybe a broken heart." He said quietly. He jumped off of the wagon and bowed his head respectfully to Robb. "There was an incident on the King's Road," he said solemnly.

"What happened?" Robb asked, he cast a look over to the wagon that was obviously carrying something.

"Something….happened…between Sansa and Prince Joffery. No one really knows what happened for certain. We only know that the two of them had been walking and somehow the Prince was attacked by Lady. He was bit pretty badly. Sansa won't say what happened." The guard said bitterly. "The Prince seems to have the story that the wolf went wild and attacked for no reason. It doesn't make any sense, Lady is usually so calm and trusting, just like the Lady Sansa."

"Unless she was protecting Sansa." Muttered Arya and Robb sent her a warning look, talk like that was dangerous. If Sansa and Joffery were alone, that meant that Joffery was the only one there who would have tried to hurt Sansa. Arya frowned, but said no more.

"The Queen demanded some sort of punishment." The guard's voice went tense. "She demanded that Lady be killed."

Arya gasped lightly as she looked to the wagon, realizing now what must be in it. Robb's jaw seemed to harden when he heard the words. "Go on." He told the guard.

"Your father, did it himself. Made sure it was a clean kill. I don't think your sister is going to forgive him any time soon. But who knows how difficult the Queen's men would have made Lady's death if he hadn't done it." The guard said sadly. "He asked me to bring her back here, to Winterfell, make sure she got a proper northern burial. He also said something about not letting the Lannister woman get her hands on Lady's pelt."

At those last words, all the wolves growled lowly.

Arya could tell that Robb was angry, by the set of his jaw, and a small little twitch of his eyebrow. It was a look she had seen many times directed at her. But she had never seen the pure hatred that now touched his eyes before. She couldn't blame him for his reaction. She felt a surge of rage spike through her as she realized the Lannisters had indeed killed one of their own. She slipped a hand into her brother's hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. If only to let him know that he wasn't alone. From behind him Hodor stood with Bran. Bran's face held an angry frown as he looked towards the wagon, where now a couple of men were lifting a large burlap sack that must have held Lady's body. Bran rested a hand on Robb's shoulder. Rickon silently came up on Robb'ss other side and slipped his small hand into Robb's free hand. Arya craned her neck to look at Theon, who also held a solemn look. He felt her eyes on him, and he looked back at her. She held out her other hand. Without so much as a second thought he took her hand and twined their fingers together. He recognized that she needed him at that moment. None of them cried, but they were all sad and angry. They at least had each other to lean on, they would protect each other.


	9. Chapter 9

Arya sat on a bench at a table in the main hall, staring lazily at one of the tapestries that depicted a dire wolf, a large, fearsome creature of legend. She had an apple in one hand that she took a bite of from time to time, but it almost seemed to be as an afterthought. Nymeria lay underneath the table, boredom seemed to claim her much the same as Arya. Arya noted earlier that at the rate her wolf had been growing, she wouldn't be able to fit under the table much longer. She wondered just how big Nymeria would get. If the tapestry was any indication, Nymeria just might grow taller then her, but she wasn't sure if the picture was accurate.

Theon sat next to her, only facing the opposite direction. His back rested against the table, his arms crossed over his chest, legs stretched out before him, one ankle crossed over the other. He looked bored. Things had been quiet in Winterfell as of late. They had heard nothing from Eddard, nor Catelyn and waiting on any information seemed like torture. Even word from Sansa would have been welcome, both Arya and Theon were worried about the oldest Stark girl and her loss.

Arya dropped the unfinished apple on the table, and turned her neck to look at Theon's profile. "Do you think it's possible for the wolves to sense their siblings?" She paused a second, "I mean even if they're miles apart?"

He turned to look back at her, and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I guess it doesn't really seem likely, does it? It kind of seems like magic. Magic doesn't exist."

"I guess." Arya said hesitantly, almost like she didn't believe what she was saying. "I mean, I know what you say makes sense…"

"But?" Theon prodded, a smirk raising upon his lips, this line of questioning seemed to amuse him.

That, however, did not amuse Arya, she didn't like thinking that she was being made fun of. She gave him an annoyed glare. "Nothing, forget I even brought it up." Then turned her attention back to the tapestry.

The smirk left his face as soon as she turned away from him, knowing that he upset her. He straightened up, so that he was sitting normally. He nudged her her arm with his to get her attention. "Hey, come on now. I didn't mean anything by that. Talk to me." She scooted a little bit closer to her, and then said in a conspiratorial whisper, "I promise I'll be nice, and I won't tell anyone."

For a moment she didn't say anything, "I think Nymeria might have known when Bran fell from the tower. Or at least she must have known of Summer's distress when he fell. Nymeria was the reason I decided to go back home that day. She was so restless."

"It could be a coincidence. Or maybe she heard Summer howl," Theon responded. "Wolves have better ears then we do."

"I thought that too." Arya said, turning to face him. "But then I remember the night that Bran woke up. The wolves, all of them were excited. What if that had been the night my father was forced to kill Lady?" Her eyes were still filled with sadness every time she talked about Sansa's wolf, even though they had found out it about several weeks ago. "It's possible that the time of Lady's death and the time around when Bran woke up, could have coincided."

Theon thought on what she said for a moment. "I guess it's possible," he admitted. "For all we know direwolves really could have a mental link. They are a rare creature, I don't think they've been studied too closely. But there's no way we can tell for certain."

Arya nodded again, with a small sigh, "I guess you're right. It was a stupid idea anyway."

Theon gave her a small smile. "No, not stupid, far fetched maybe. But not stupid."

It was then then Winterfell's steward came in, followed by a man, who in stature was not much bigger then Arya and who was obviously not a native of Westeros. The steward looked at Theon and Arya with a quirked eyebrow. "Where is Lord Robb?"

"I'm right here," answered Robb entering from one of the rear doors. Grey Wind let out a small growl at the stranger in their midst. Lately the wolf seemed as over protective as Robb did. Another quirk that Arya noticed, the wolves seemed to be taking on the traits of their masters. Robb rested his hand gently on Grey Wind's neck to calm him. "Shh, it's okay." He said quietly to his wolf. Yet Robb's eyes still looked suspiciously on the foreigner.

The steward stepped forward, "my lord, this is Syrio Forel, First Sword of Braavos, he was sent by your father, he says he has a letter of introduction, but that he's been instructed to only give it to you."

Robb nodded is head and then dismissed the steward. Arya and Theon both got up to leave to give Robb the privacy he deserved to receive the letter from his father. Robb looked up at the two of them. "It's okay, you can stay." He had figured his father had sent him some information, perhaps about their mother. Arya would want to know the information and he had no doubt that once she knew, Theon would know too. Those two had become thick as thieves the last few weeks. Besides if there was sensitive information within this letter, he trusted the two of them to keep it quiet. Robb looked to this Syrio Forel, his hand held out ready to receive the letter his father had sent.

"Ah, yes of course." Syrio's Braavosi accent was thick. He pulled a scroll of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Robb with a graceful bow. Arya could see her father's unbroken wax seal and she stepped over to where Robb stood, wanting to read over his shoulder, but she stopped herself, knowing it would be rude. But she was practically bouncing on her toes, eager to hear news.

It seemed to take forever for Robb to open the parchment. Arya thought he might be purposefully taking a long time unrolling it and then reading it, knowing the wait was killing her. When he was done he looked up at Syrio, and Arya could tell there was some concern in his eyes. He handed the letter for Arya to read, which she did so carefully as he spoke up. "My father hired you to instruct Arya in the ways of Braavosi water dancing, and you ware welcome here for that." Robb's scowl hardened. "He also said you were to accompany my mother on her way back from King's Landing. Where is she?"

For a moment the Braavosi was silent. His lips a firm line, his expression grim. "We were stopped at an inn, I believe it was somewhere near the Twins," he started to explain slowly. "When we were there, a dwarf also came to rest there."

Robb knew that could mean it was only one person, "Tyrion Lannsiter."

Syrio confirmed, "it was. Your mother, she was angry with him, she convinced several men that were there that it would be in their best interest to help her detain him. She told those present that she would take Tyrion to Winterfell to stand trial for his crimes. Specifically, the attempted murder of your brother. Before she set out, however, she pulled me aside and ordered me to go on to Winterfell. She had made the decision to take him to the Eyrie, to your Aunt Lysa. I suppose saying that she was going to Winterfell was a ruse to keep the Lannisters off of her trail. She said she would send a raven soon, when she thought it would be safe."

Robb just stared at him for a moment, trying to process the news he brought. His mother had taken Lord Tyrion hostage. And people were worried about him acting rashly. His mother had made a bold move, and he was concerned about what events it might trigger. Finally he seemed to find his voice. "You are welcome here Master Forel. I'm sure Arya will be grateful for your instruction. Thank you for bringing us this news."

Arya had finished the letter while listening to Syrio's tale of what had happened for her mother. She silently cheered that Catelyn had done something about Tyrion. However, she saw the tension in Robb's shoulders. He was worried about something, probably that he thought his mother acted without thinking. She bit her lip lightly as she looked from Robb to Syrio. The whole room seemed to be filled with tension and it made her uncomfortable.

After another second of silence, Arya spoke up, hoping to break the tension, after all it wasn't Syrio's fault that her mother might have made a mistake. "What's the Braavosi Water Dance?" She took a few steps towards Forel.

The Braavosi gave her a quick, appraising eye. "You must be Arya." He said, and then continued when she nodded at him in the affirmative. "It is a unique form of sword fighting. You have the right build, perhaps you might even have the grace. We shall see."

Theon watched the two interact for a moment, and when he was certain Arya's attention was with their guest, he moved to stand by Robb. His voice was low so it wouldn't get Arya's attention. "The Lannisters will not let this go, they'll see this as an insult."

Robb simply nodded his head, he knew full well what the ramifications could be for what his mother had done. "I know," was his simple reply.

—

Robb found out about the first bad thing to happen because of Cat's action one morning ten days later. Theon and Robb were watching Arya's 'dancing' lessons. It looked exhausting just watching her, the man had her twirling and dancing around. It looked graceful, but neither of them could understand how any of it would actually help her in a fight. They were used to a much more straight forward style of fighting. The both winced, Arya had missed blocking a particularly vicious hit from Syrio's wooden sword and it had struck true on her arm.

"That will probably leave a mark." Theon commented lightly.

Robb chuckled a little as Arya cast a glare in Theon's direction. She seemed to look even more determined as she brought her attention back to Syrio, letting him know she was ready to start again. "She's probably going to complain about us watching her, that we're a distraction."

"You're probably right." Theon laughed a little. "Maybe we should leave before she takes out her mistakes on us."

"Probably a good idea." Robb said with a smile. They both gave the two 'dancers' one last glance and then turned to leave the yard.

On the way back to the main building they were greeted by Maester Luwin, his hand clutching a scrap of parchment. "Lord Robb, I have news." The old man's face was grim and Robb could tell that whatever it was he had to share, it wasn't good.

"What is it?" Robb asked with trepidation.

Luwin cast a glance to where Arya and Syrio were as if he wanted make sure they couldn't be overheard. Then he looked back to Robb. "Let us go inside, less ears to hear what I have to say." Without waiting for a response from Robb, he turned around and led the way with as much haste as he could muster.

Once they reached the safety of the great hall, Robb looked at Luwin with concern. "What is it?" His voice held a quiet authority, that wasn't lost on Luwin. Young Robb seemed to be taking well to his role as Lord of Winterfell, while his father was away. The Maester was relieved for that, things were about to get a little complicated for the boy.

"I got a raven from King's Landing. Jaime Lannister attacked your father and a few guardsmen on the streets of the city." The Maester held up his hand to hold off on any comments from Robb or Theon. "Your father is alive, they stabbed him through the leg, but he is alive." He paused a moment, wondering how to break the rest of the news. "They killed the guards who were accompanying him. Jory Cassel was one of them. I am sorry Robb."

"They've attacked my family again?" They were the only words Robb could vocalize at the moment. His father had been hurt, attacked by a member of the King's Guard. A friend had been murdered in the streets of the city that seated the so called Protecter of the Realm. Jory, gods, they had sparred with him, he had taught Jon, Robb, and Theon the very basics of the blade. And now he was dead. His father could have died.

"They claim it was in retaliation for taking Tyrion." Luwin said quietly.

"And how did the King respond to all of this?" Robb asked, his voice hard.

"I do not know much of the specifics." Luwin said quietly. "It does appear that Jaime has fled King's Landing, presumably to go back to Castlery Rock."

"What are you going to do?" Theon asked quietly. He looked just as shaken as Robb felt. Neither of them thought that the situation would escalate to the point that Eddard himself would be in danger.

"I don't know." Was all Robb could say. At the moment there wasn't much he could do. His father while injured was alive, the King might have already stepped in to calm the escalating relations between the Starks and Lannisters. To do anything might provoke further hostilities. He also knew that his mother was dealing with a precarious situation in the Eyrie. There were too many variables for Robb to do anything dramatic. Right now it all he could do was wait and see. He hated it. "We keep this from Rickon, Bran, and," at this he looked specifically at Theon, "Arya. We don't tell them anything until we know more. Let's let them have have a few days of blissful ignorance before we have to tell them what happened."

—

In one of Syrio Forel's more interesting training techniques, he had Arya balance on one foot at the top of a flight of stairs. He had told her that water dancers could stand on one foot for long periods of time, so she spent much of her free time doing exactly that. Over the last couple of days there was a tension within Winterfell and she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Theon had been more solemn and Robb walked around with a scowl on his face most of the time. She hadn't enjoyed either of their company, she knew they were keeping things from her again and she knew they wouldn't tell her until they were ready to. So she found that she spent most of her time with Syrio, or practicing what Syrio had taught her.

Theon found her doing just that, practicing. Arya stood at the top of the stairs that led up to her room. She stood on her left foot, both arms outstretched to the sides, helping to keep her balanced. Her eyes were closed in concentration, so she had no idea that he was there. He stood a few steps down from where she was, and all he could do was stare at her for a few moments. She certainly was beautiful, he could admit that to himself now without berating himself, even when she didn't look the way a highborn lady was expected to look. Since her mother had left Winterfell she had taken to wearing trousers and the shirts her brother favored. He supposed it was easier to move around in, especially when she was practicing her sword play. Her dark hair was almost always pulled back, away from her face. And even though she was messy and wild, to him, she was lovely. After a few moments more of admiring her, he cleared his throat to announce that he was there. She opened her eyes to look at him, swaying only slightly, and making a few small adjustments to her balance so she wouldn't fall.

"What exactly are you doing?" Asked Theon.

"Syrio says it will help my balance." Arya stated. "I'm getting better." She sounded proud of herself.

"You've been practicing a lot have you?" Theon asked as he climbed a step closer to her.

"Yep." Was her matter of fact response. "I've had plenty of time. I probably will continue to have plenty of time until you or Robb decide to tell me what's going on."

Theon let a ghost of a smile come to his lips as he climbed a few more steps. "So it's to be the silent treatment then?"

Arya had noticed him coming closer, the playful glint in his eye made her a little nervous, and her concentration was starting to waiver. She wobbled a little, but managed to keep her balance without resorting to standing on two feet. "That's the plan." She said quietly as he stepped on the step just below where she stood. Her being on the upper step made it so that she was closer to his hight and she was able to look him in the eye easily. "What are you doing?" She tried to make her voice sound annoyed, but it came out more flustered than anything.

That of course made his smile widen a little. He hadn't forgotten what she had done to him all those weeks ago in the practice yard when she had made him miss his shot. This would be his payback. "Distracting you."

Being this close to him always put her on edge and she had to actively work to pretend he didn't make her nervous. So of course her concentration broke as she tried to remain on a single foot and her balance was thrown off. She started to stumble forward, luckily she had Theon's body there to stop her from tumbling down the stairs. Instinctively Theon had raised his arms to catch her, wrapping them around her slender waist to keep her safe. Her hands grasped at his shoulders as they were the easiest thing she could grab on to. They stood there, entwined like that for a moment.

The smile from Theon's face was gone, as he looked down into her surprised eyes, they probably mirrored his. Perhaps he hadn't thought through this plan of his properly. He hadn't anticipated her literally falling into his arms like this. He could feel the warmth of her body, the beating of her heart, which seemed a bit rapid at the moment. It felt like his heart might be beating just as rapidly. In that moment there were several things he wanted to do. Their lips were so close that if he moved just a couple of inches he could have kissed her, gods, he wanted to kiss her. If he was honest, he wanted to do more then kiss her. She felt so right in his arms that wanted to hold her forever. He wanted to tell her how he felt. He didn't want to do anything to make that moment end. And all at the same time, he wanted to let her go, turn away from her and run, because he knew he couldn't do any of the things he really wanted to do.

So instead, he gathered all his strength and opened his mouth. "Are you okay, my lady?"

And that was enough to break the trance that Arya had felt come over her. She had been affected in pretty much the same way Theon had been. She furrowed her brow at his words and pushed herself away from him. "I'm fine." Then as kind of an afterthought. "And don't call me my lady, you keep doing that!"

He couldn't help but chuckle a little and started to recover his wits. He managed to give her an amused smirk. "As you wish."

"What did you want anyway?" She asked grumpily as she looked to him, her eyes blazing with annoyance, she wasn't sure if it was aimed at him for making her feel the way she did, or at herself for allowing it to happen.

"Robb wanted me to find you." Theon shrugged. "Bran's saddle is made, and he wanted to know if you wanted to go out with us to see how it works."

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place!" This time she managed to give a bright smile, dashed past him, and bounded down the stairs.

—

Bran was the only one to take a horse that day, Robb, Theon, Rickon and Arya were all on foot. Four wolves walked ahead of them, no doubt stalking for small prey. Robb was armed with a sword, Arya her Needle, and Theon with his bow. Even little Rickon held a practice sword, if only to feel like his older siblings. Arya could tell her brother seemed to be a bit on edge, even within their own lands, that's why they were all armed. Whatever Theon and Robb were keeping from her, it was bad. She shivered a little, when she heard one of their wolves let out a single howl. Rickon laughed as a child with not a care in the world would and bounded off into the woods towards where the sound came from.

"Damn it." Robb cursed quietly. "Rickon get back here!" He called after the boy, who did not heed his older brother. "Keep going," He told the other three. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere, we'll catch up." It had been several minutes, and Robb still hadn't found his way back to them. They could here him in the distance calling for Rickon through the trees.

Theon brought what remained of their little party to a stop. "I should probably go and help," He said with a small sigh. "Stay with Bran, Arya. If anything happens, call for help. I won't go far." He looked at her pointedly, begging her to do what he asked this time. He was worried about leaving the two of them there alone, but he was also worried about the much younger boy who might be lost in the forest. He waited until Arya nodded her head, agreeing to stick close to Bran. She wasn't about to leave him alone. Once he was satisfied that she would stay put, he slowly made his way back towards where they had left Robb.

For a moment all was silent, then Arya looked up at her little brother. "Does it feel good to be back on a horse?" She asked suddenly. He seemed to be happier this afternoon, more than he had been in a long while.

He looked at her blankly for a moment and then allowed his face to light up in a boyish grin. "You have no idea how good it feels!"

Arya couldn't help but return the smile and they were able to go on a few moments, chatting about the feeling of being outside and alive. They were enjoying each other's company so much that they didn't notice the four wildings that crept ever closer, easily surrounding them.

"Look what we found, eh?" said a gruff voice, and Arya immediately reached for her Needle, knowing that these people didn't mean to give them any kindness. "A little lordling and a little lady. I wouldn't reach for the steel, lass." He motioned to the Needle at Arya's waist.

Arya's brow furrowed as one of the others spoke up. "What shall we do with 'em?"

"I dunno, but they might fetch us a pretty price. Or we can steal the weapon and the horse is a mighty fine animal." Answered the one who seemed to be the leader.

"We're not out here alone!" Arya said through gritted teeth, her hands fisted tight and she felt her nails digging into her palms. She itched for her sword.

"I don't see none around." Said the only woman who was in the small band of misfits. "But just in case don't yell out loud." She said gruffly.

"My brother is going to be back soon, I suggest you leave before he comes." Bran said trying to remain calm, but Arya could hear the panic in his voice.

The woman took a closer step to Bran along with one of her friends who had a knife out, ready to take on Bran. The leader and the last savage stepped closer to Arya. "You do have spirit lass. I should think I would like a turn with you." The leader leered at her and she couldn't help but shudder a little bit. She noticed that he held a wicked looking knife and she gulped, wondering if she should take her chances and scream for Theon and her brother.

"You won't touch me, you disgusting slop." Arya said with a deathly calm. She would put up a fight, she was a trained water dancer, well on the way to becoming one one anyway, he would be no match for her if she could just reach for her Needle.

The others laughed and the other creature that was closest to her, looked at his leader with a lear. "I think she likes ya."

"You leave my sister alone!" Shouted Bran as he squirmed in his saddle, feeling helpless because he could do nothing to protect her.

"Or what little lord?" Asked the leader as he took another step towards Arya with a laugh. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her close so that her back was against his front and his knife was at her throat. "Perhaps the little lord would like to watch."

The next little bit that happened, happened so fast it was all a blur, it was hard to keep track of how it all played out. She knew that an arrow had whipped past her cheek and buried itself with in her captors neck, followed by another that hit his eye. As he fell, Arya felt the knife slice the skin at her neck shallowly, but she paid no attention. She grabbed her Needle and bounded over to the woman who was near Bran and held her small blade to the woman's neck, daring her to move. There was a flash of fur and several growls as three wolves jumped upon the other captor that was near Bran. Robb came in swiftly and was able to cut down the last captive. It all happened in a matter of moments.

Theon came out quickly making his way to Arya. "Are you okay?" Were the first words out of his mouth, not even paying attention to the fact that she was holding her blade at a hostage's neck.

"I'm kind of busy at the moment." Arya said tightly, her heart was still racing at the excitement. Although the she probably could have dropped Needle's point away from the woman. The wilding kept glancing terrified at the wolves and what remained of one of her companions.

"You are bleeding." Was his only answer as he took a step closer to Arya. His eyes solely on the side of her neck where she had been hurt.

"Theon, it's nothing, I'm fine. Focus your attention on the fact that I have a wilding at the end of my blade." She said pointedly.

"Oh, of course." That seemed to wake him up and he turned to Robb, who was checking to make sure the others were indeed dead and that Bran was okay. "Robb, what should we do with the girl."

Robb looked up, his face was hard, Arya had never seen him look this angry before. He gave a quick glare to Theon as he walked over to the woman. He had grabbed some rope from Bran's saddle bag. He moved behind their captive and started to tie her hands up. "Where in the seven hells were you, it took you long enough to take that shot?" Arya looked from Robb to Theon while she lowered her sword arm.

For his part Theon managed to glare right back at Robb. "I had to make sure it was clear. I didn't want to hit your sister by mistake."

"You shouldn't have left them in the first place." Mumbled Robb. Arya could tell he wasn't really angry with Theon, he was more angry that the whole thing had happened and more then a little scared that it had happened so close to home.

"I'm sorry, my lord." Theon said quietly, and Arya could tell that he was seething too. Then he turned his attention back to Arya, once he knew Robb was securing the prisoner, "Let me see your neck." He said seriously to Arya.

"It's fine." She mumbled, but she tilted her head to the side so he could get a look at her injury. "It's only a scratch."

He took a step forward and put his hands on her neck and peered at it closely. Her skin warmed at his touch. "We should have Measter Luwin take a look as soon as we get back."

Robb for his part, saw the whole exchange, and he had a sick feeling in his stomach. "Let's go," he said a little too hard. His tone forced the two to step away from each other, Theon looking more then a little guiltily and Arya looking annoyed that she would have to waste time with the Maester. Rickon came out from behind a tree, followed by Shaggydog, who must have been protecting Rickon while the other wolves helped to take care of the wildings. The little boy seemed a little subdued as he took Arya's hand. She gave Theon a quick look, then started to follow Robb who had started back toward's Winterfell. Theon stood watching as the rest of the Starks went ahead of him. He shook his head free of the thoughts of what could have happened to the young Stark girl. Then he slowly started walking after them.

—

"What is going on between you and Arya?" Robb said more then a little bracingly, as he entered the armory where Theon was putting away the weapons.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Theon looked at him with an eyebrow raised in amusement. He would have to be careful about what he would say to his friend about his sister. This was going to be a difficult conversation.

"I saw the way you looked at her." Robb answered darkly. "And Luwin mentioned something about the two of you becoming too close."

"Robb, we're friends, that's it." Theon turned back to his work, hoping that Robb couldn't see his face. It felt like he had had this conversation before. Oh that's right he did, with Jon. He knew his words were lies, but he also knew he would attempt to make them the truth in the future. "She asked me to teach her how to use a bow, and I taught her. We became friends. Anything else you think you saw, is purely your imagination."

Robb continued to give him a dark stare, even though Theon didn't see it, he felt the heaviness of it. "You'll hurt her."

Theon slammed down a knife he had been cleaning and turned back to the person who he had thought was his friend. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Don't you know who I am? When have I ever given you reason to doubt me?"

"Says the man who used to visit the town's brothel weekly," Robb answered back. "Who was your favorite again? Ah, yes Ros."

His anger was getting the better part of Theon, and his hands balled into fists. He was very close to punching Robb, the consequences be damned. "Did you hear the word you just used, Lord Robb?" His tone wasn't very respectful at the moment. "I used to go to the town's brothel. I used to go see Ros. I haven't been there since, gods, since before your father left for King's Landing."

That seemed to catch Robb off guard and he had to give that a few minutes thought to see if it registered right. And with silent realization he knew it was true. "Oh." Was all he could say.

"I would do nothing to hurt Arya." Theon said quietly. "You have to at least believe that."

Again Robb was silent for moment, carefully looking at his friend. "It will never work." He knew of Theon's feelings the moment he saw his reaction when he predicted that he was going to hurt his sister. "My father, he would never…"

"You don't think I don't know that." Theon snapped, realizing that denying his feelings would be stupid. "I'm not good enough for the Starks. I'm reminded of that every single day." His tone was bitter.

Robb sighed. "Actually I think my father would find the match… somewhat ideal." He leaned against one of the weapons tables, crossing his arms. "A marriage between our Houses could ease tensions with the Iron Islands. Politically speaking it would be a perfect match." Robb said knowledgeably. "But, for his youngest daughter, he has somewhat of a soft spot…"

The moment was tense, until Theon let out a soft chuckle. These realizations made him upset, but he couldn't stay mad at Robb. "And Arya would never agree to that kind of marriage. I know that too. Would you think any less of me if I told you that kind of hurt." He said a bit deflated as he leaned next to Robb.

"You expected anything less with Arya?" Robb asked him a bit incredulous. They both laughed at that for a few seconds. "How in the seven hells did you fall for her? I mean… she's Arya."

"She's got spirit." Theon admitted. "And honestly, I'm not sure how or why it happened. One day, she was an annoying little girl who kept on pestering me to teach her how to fight and prefect her bow and arrow skill. And then one day I woke up and she… grew up."

Robb shook his head. "I don't' get it. She's not very lady like and not very pretty. I thought Sansa would be more more to your liking."

"I did too, it's somewhat of a mystery, even to me." Theon said.

Robb laughed, and let it fade into a silent lull in the conversation.

"She can't know about this, you know." Theon said after a moment. He had a feeling Arya might return the feelings he had for her, but he doubted that she would admit it out loud, and definitely not to him. "She cannot know my feelings. I could take her anger, and she'll probably, no doubt, go violent on me. It's in her nature. But I think if she decided to pity me, that would be worse." Theon said quietly.

"Don't worry, " Robb sighed. "Just promise me you'll get over this infatuation before it becomes a problem and you start brooding all around the keep. That could be just depressing." He playfully gave his friend a shove.

Theon just laughed, "Don't worry about me. I can handle this." He straightened up and answered Robb's shove with one of his own. At least his friend didn't hate him. They moved to exit the armory and Theon became a bit more serious. "She know's something is up. I think we keep underestimating her observational skills. You're going to have to tell her about your father getting hurt and Jory and his men being killed. You and I haven't been very good at pretending everything is alright. The longer you keep it from her, they angrier she's going to get."

Robb nodded his head. "I know. I've put it off long enough. I'll tell her and Bran tonight after supper."


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't like walking these woods." Theon said grumpily.

"I've walked the Godswood my entire life." Arya nonchalantly said. "Nothing bad has happened to me before, and we have Nymeria with us. I doubt anything is going to happen. There are no Lannisters hiding in the shadows. We haven't heard anything from Father in awhile. Maybe the King has started to make things right, and we don't have to worry anymore." Robb had told her what had happened to Father and Jory, and the guards. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't scared for her father and the rest of the household that went to King's Landing. But things had been blessedly quiet the last few days, and in her opinion, no news was good news.

"It's not just the Lannisters I fear." Theon said quietly, his eyes scanned the trees as they walked further towards the Heart Tree.

"Have you been listening to that wilding woman?" Arya asked, a hint of amusement come into her voice. "And here I thought Osha was just telling Bran tales to scare him. Apparently, they work on you too." He could hear the laughter in her voice threatening to bubble out. "You're scared of white walkers and giants. Should we add ghosts and wargs to that list too?"

"You laugh at me, my lady." He answered her, a shadow of a grin playing upon his lips. "But maybe what she says isn't so far fetched. What if she is telling the truth, that she climbed the Wall to escape some terrible, ancient evil that had awoken. After all, that Wall was built for a reason."

"You don't really believe that." Arya said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Of course I don't, at least I don't believe in the horror stories that she's telling your brother." He said as they came upon the Heart Tree. "But there is something going on, you cannot deny that. The wildings, they are restless, it's rare they come this far south, and Osha said they wanted to go further. It might not be the white walkers, but something scared her. And if something scared her, other wildings might be frightened too and making their way South."

"You're worried we'll be attacked again?" concern tinged her voice as she asked.

"I'm always concerned when there might be a threat." He said as he looked at the face carved into the tree. "Especially now, things seem dangerous, even when it's quiet. I can't explain why I feel uneasy. I just do. I have since we heard about Jory being killed, maybe even before that. Then you and Bran were attacked, it's like everything that can go wrong is going wrong. I keep waiting for the next bad thing to happen"

"Theon Greyjoy," She smiled a little. "I never knew you could be so serious, or so pessimistic."

"You're worried too," He answered her smile. "Don't try to deny it. You come here when you want peace."

Arya shrugged her shoulders as if it didn't matter why she came here. "I feel closer to my father here. He prayed here often."

"So you pray here?" Theon asked.

"Maybe, I don't know, I wish for the safety of my father, and my sister. I don't know if that counts has praying." Arya said looking at the tree's face. "Do you think they have have the power to make those wishes come true."

"They might." Theon said, although he didn't sound convinced.

"What about your god from the Iron Islands?" Arya asked hearing his skepticism. "Does the Drowned God have any power?"

"I'm not sure he's my god." He answered with a small chuckle. "You forget, Little Wolf, I grew up here. Your father tried to make sure he taught me the ways of the Ironborn, including their faith. But it's hard to believe in a god who's domain is the sea when you are no where near the sea. I saw your mother worship her Seven and your father his old gods, maybe I believe in their power."

"So you've adopted our gods then?" Arya asked, her head canted to the side.

"I'm not sure about that exactly." Theon said, it was something he hadn't given much thought to. "I'm guess I'm saying I don't know where to put my faith."

Arya nodded, she understood his words completely. "I don't know either. None of these gods have really kept my family safe and look at how much time and effort my parents put into honoring them. Syrio says there's only one god."

"And what god is that?" Theon asked.

"Death." Arya said simply.

They stayed quiet for awhile after that, contemplating the gods. It seemed an odd conversation for the two of them, neither of them ever gave much thought on the topic of the many gods of Westeros. After a few moments, Arya seemed to be ready to end the stillness of the moment. "I think I'm ready to go," she said solemnly.

He looked relieved that she was ready to go back to the keep, back where he felt safer. "Good."

"I could have come by myself." Arya offered chuckling a little.

"And you know that's not an option." Theon smiled back at her. "Especially after what happened with the wildlings. You think your brother would let you wander around here alone?"

"And you wouldn't let me either." She said a little grumpily. "But at least I'm in good company."

"You almost sound like you mean that." He said with a smirk.

"I actually think I do mean it." She said as she started off in the direction of the keep. He moved to walk with her. "I mean, we have become pretty good friends, haven't we?" She looked up to him as they walked.

"Aye, I guess we have." Theon agreed.

"You like it here, at Winterfell, right?" Arya questioned.

"Of course." He looked down at her, perplexed by her line of questioning. "What's bringing this on, Arya?"

"I don't know," She shrugged trying to sound nonchalant, but she couldn't hide the bit of worry in her voice, "just when we were talking back there, about the gods, you mentioned something about how my father tried to teach you the ways of your people. I got the feeling that you think being taught about it, and actually living it are two different things. It made me wonder if you were happy here, or if you might resent us. You didn't come here under the best of terms."

"I came here because of something my father did." Theon said, trying to reassure her, "despite that, Lord Stark never treated me like a hostage." He didn't add that he sometimes felt caught in between being a friend and being 'guest' to the Starks. He tried to give her a smile, but it seemed sad and a little forced.

She noticed his expression, "But he never gave you the warmth a child would want or need either." Arya guessed quietly. "I think my father did the best that he could. It must have been hard having to raise another man's son. I can't imagine it would sit well with him. If he had treated you like a son, he would have felt like he was disrespecting your father."

"You have a point." He said. "I know what you say makes sense. It doesn't make it any easier growing up knowing that you don't belong in the only place you've ever considered your home."

Arya stopped walking and grabbed his hand so that he would stop too. When they stopped so abruptly he stopped to look at her questioningly. "You belong here Theon. You must know that." She said emphatically. "Even if you weren't born here, you're still one of us."

He gave her a smile any gave her hand a squeeze. "That's not true my lady. Your father may have raised me, but he knows I am Ironborn, that I have the sea in my blood. You said it yourself, he couldn't have me thinking that Winterfell was my true home."

"But Robb thinks of you as a brother." Arya said.

"He is my brother, in all but blood." Theon said. "But I am a Greyjoy. I don't resent that fact, Arya. My childhood could have been a lot worse. I'm sorry if I made it seem like I was unhappy with my life here. I'm not. I just know that I will not be here forever, that eventually I'll have to go back to Pyke, a place I haven't seen since I was a child. It won't be my home, not really, at least not at first. It's sometimes a little overwhelming for me to think about. Do not worry about me."

Arya frowned a little, "I'm not worried about you." She might have been, but he didn't need to know about that.

Theon smiled. "Yes you are," he insisted.

"No I'm not! Why would I be worried about you?" Was Arya's emphatic reply as she jerked her hand away from his and started to stalk away from him. She was becoming flustered at where this line of talk was going.

"Because you care about me." He replied cockily as he followed after her.

"No, I don't." Was her petulant reply.

"No?" He asked as he grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. They had almost reached the Keep, but he was interested to see what her answer would be. "Then tell me, if Robb thinks of me as a brother, what is it you think of me as?" He had that cocky smirk playing on his features.

Seeing his expression only made her annoyed with him, she hated that he could get under her skin like this. She yanked her arm away from him. She gave him her best glare. "I'm not going to answer that." And she quickly stormed off toward Winterfell's main building.

Theon merely chuckled at the response she offered him. Clearly he had touched a nerve. "I think that's answer enough, my lady!" He called after her and then followed easily with a smile on his lips.

Arya was the first to stomp her way into the main hall, still a bit off kilter by her conversation with Theon. She still wasn't ready to confront her feelings for him, and he seemed to want to push the issue. She stopped when she noticed the Maester and Robb, holding what seemed to be a solemn conversation on the far end of the room. Theon stopped when she did, she gave him a sideways glance and noticed the smug look he had upon his face. She rolled her eyes, and nodded in the direction of her brother and Luwin, Theon hadn't seemed to notice them yet.

"What do you think happened now?" She whispered, a little worry creeping into her thoughts.

Their conversation forgotten for a moment, Theon looked at the two men, concern growing within him. "I don't know, come on," He said placing a hand on her lower back, he started to guide her towards Robb. "Let's find out."

Once the pair reached where the other two men were talking, Robb brought his attention to them. He looked grim. He knew they had figured something was up, and he was done keeping things from his sister. "King Robert is dead." He said simply.

"What?" Arya asked a bit confused, she had known the King was fat, and perhaps enjoyed his drink too much, but otherwise he seemed healthy enough. It seemed a bit sudden. "How did it happen?"

"Hunting accident," Luwin said, "apparently." From his tone, the others could tell that he wasn't completely willing to believe that story. His concern was that perhaps the Lannisters had finally decided to make their move upon the throne, it was well known that they were an ambitious family. Joffery was more Lannister than Barotheon, he would most likely be under the sway of his mother. Could this have something to do with why Bran had been thrown from that tower?

Theon was not stupid, he had the same thoughts. ""What does this mean for Lord Stark?"

"Will he be safe in King's Landing?" Arya seemed anxious. "With the King dead, he's run low on powerful friends in the city. They've already attacked him on the streets, even with the King still in position to protect him. What happens now?"

"I don't know, Arya." Robb said. "We have to trust that Father knows what he's doing. The King didn't die right away, he almost certainly made arrangements for what would happen after his death. Maybe we're worried for nothing. I'm sure Father will send a raven when things have calmed down." But even he didn't sound convinced by his own words.

"I hate waiting ," Arya said sullenly. Her eyes sought out Theon and he was looking at her, she could tell that his thoughts were the same as hers. He had been right, back there in the woods, bad things seemed to keep happening. She had no doubt that this just might be the beginning and that the worst was yet to come. She shuddered at the thought.

—

The air around Winterfell over the next few days was tense. Every raven that had come, brought fear and worry to the Stark children. For days they had waited for bad news, but none came. For a brief moment, Arya had thought they had all been on edge for nought, maybe their Father had managed to contain the situation in King's Landing, maybe everything would be okay.

Then one morning Old Nan, an old serving woman that had been with the Starks since before even Robb had been born, hobbled into Arya's room unannounced. "Lord Robb wanted me to come tell you a raven's come from King's Landing."

Arya had been getting ready for her next 'dancing' lesson and had just finished placing Needle in her sword belt. When she heard Old Nan's words her heart seemed to go cold. Her fear kept her from saying anything to the old woman. Instead she just moved towards the door.

Before she could depart from her room, Nan touched Arya's arm to stop the girl from leaving. Her words held a small warning, "brace yourself child, remember 'dark wings, dark words.'"

Arya shivered when she heard the old adage, whatever the raven had brought from King's Landing, it wasn't good news. She felt herself nod her head towards Nan, to let the woman know she understood, she couldn't trust her voice at the moment. Then quickly she dashed out of her room, down the stairs, and into Winterfell's great hall. She had not been the first one to arrive there. Hodor must have brought Bran, for he sat there at a table, a frown etched across his face. Rickon sat on the floor next to Shaggydog, petting him absentmindedly. The youngest Stark must have known something was wrong, his eyes darted nervously, from one person to the next. Robb was seated the table too, Theon next to him, both of their faces showing obvious concern as Robb seemed to be reading a piece of parchment. Luwin stood slightly behind them, he was paler then usual and Arya could see a fear in his eyes.

Arya rushed to join the others. "What happened?" She demanded before anyone could say anything to her.

"It's from Sansa," Robb said dully, almost as if he didn't believe what he was saying. He held up the parchment he had been reading.

"It might be from Sansa, My Lord," Luwin said quietly. "But those are the Queen's words."

"What does it say?" Arya her voice hardened, annoyed that no one seemed to be giving her any real answers.

"Father has been arrested, branded a traitor against the crown and is accused of conspiring with Lords Renly and Stannis in an attempt to keep the rightful heir, King Joffery off the throne." Arya could tell that Robb was actively trying to keep his voice calm. "

"That, doesn't make any sense." Arya could here her voice rising.

"Renly disappeared almost immediately after the King died, taking several loyal men with him and nobody has heard anything from him yet. It could look suspicious if the right people twisted events around to suit their stories. Whether it is true or not, they used it also to make your Father look guilty. We all know he would never betray King Robert's rightful heir." Luwin said.

"What about Stannis, where is he?" Arya spit out, if they couldn't count on Renly for help, what of the other Barotheon brother.

"He's been quiet too. But I doubt either of them will stay quiet for long with the accusations the Crown is throwing about. I have no doubt they'll be gathering fighting men of their own." Luwin answered.

Robb nodded his head, to show that he understood the Maester. Then he looked to Arya. "There is more."

"What could be worse then what you already told me." Arya said bitterly. "That Father is dead?"

"He isn't dead, Arya." Robb snapped, he immediately regretted it when he saw Arya glare back at him. He let out a small sigh, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound short, and I don't want to even think about Father dying. He's in the Black Cells, that's bad enough for now. But the news I have yet to tell you, it won't be easy to hear."

"Just tell me." She demanded.

"The entire household father took with him, they are dead, justified by the fact that they were loyal to a traitor, that they themselves were traitors. They've taken Sansa hostage," Robb held up the parchment he had been reading. "She wrote this, declaring that what the Lannisters said is true and that she remains loyal to the Crown. The King has also summoned me to King's Landing, so I can bend my knee to him, to prove that I am not a traitor as well."

It took a moment for Arya to process everything her brother had just said. Her thoughts seemed jumbled and she could only pick out a few pieces of information to focus on at a time. "They killed everyone?" Were the first words out of her mouth. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Even Septa Mordane? The servants, the people who couldn't fight back?"

"We always knew the Lannisters were ruthless," Theon said quietly, wishing there was something he could do to help.

"And Sansa?" Arya's expression had turned from horror at the thought of all those people she had known being slaughtered, to one of confusion. "Why would Sansa write these things? She must know that they are lies."

"She does, my lady." Luwin reassured her. "But she is under the Queen's thumb now. She has to think about her survival, possibly even your father's. Who knows what promises were given to her if she complied to this." He motioned to her sister's letter.

Theon looked from Arya, to Robb, "you know you can't go to King's Landing. You cannot bow down to that boy who sits upon the throne."

Luwin nodded his head in agreement. "Theon is right, if you go, they will never let you leave."

"Don't worry," Robb said, his voice was steady, but dangerously low, Arya could tell her brother was angry. It seemed a suitable reaction to the predicament they found themselves in. "I have no intention of doing what they ask."

"Robb, act carefully, think about the consequences before you do anything." Lewin advised.

"Don't worry, I know what I have to do." Robb said. "Maester Luwin, please prepare the ravens. You say Renly and Stannis are likely preparing armies for a fight, I believe it's time I called the Stark banner men as well. I don't particularly care what those two do or if they plan on fighting Joffery for the throne, all I want is my father back. Also, send word to my Mother in the Vale, perhaps Tyrion being a hostage is more valuable now then it was before. We could use him as leverage. The Lannisters want to risk starting a war, perhaps we should show them that we are willing to play along."

"Of course, my Lord." Luwin said, a small, but grim smile coming to his lips. It seemed Robb did indeed know what he was doing. Then turned to leave to do as he was bid.

Once Luwin was out of the room he turned to Arya. "I need you to take care Bran and Rickon, watch for their safety." He held up his hand to keep her from talking. He knew she would want a more hands on role in the events to come, but he knew he had to keep her safe, it was what mother and father would want. He already had one sister in the jaws of a lion, he didn't need to risk another "I need this from you."

She wrinkled her nose, but nodded her head to show that she would comply. "But what about Sansa," Arya insisted, "she's alone and probably terrified. Couldn't we trade the Imp for her?"

Theon let a small bark of a bitter laugh escape his mouth. "It might seem a fair trade for the Crown, a girl for a half man."

Robb just shook his head. "Right now Sansa is too valuable for them, they can dangle her over our heads. To those not of the North, those people who do not know her, she is Joffrey's loyal sevent, his beloved betrothed."

"She's still to marry him?" Arya asked incredulously.

"Are you going to allow that?" Bran finally spoke up, he had been so quiet throughout the conversation Arya had practically forgot that both him and Rickon were still in the room. She looked over to her little brothers and saw both fear and sadness in their eyes. Bran probably understood more of what was going on then Rickon, but her youngest brother knew that Sansa and their Father were in danger.

Robb sighed in defeat, knowing that what he answered would not sit well with his younger siblings. "I am doing what I can. We will get Sansa back and Father too, I promise you. But it's going take awhile, we need time to gather our men, to make plans."

"It's not fast enough!" Arya exclaimed. "By the time we've gathered the banner men she might already be married to that monster! Father, he's already hurt! What if something worse happens to him in those cells. What if they kill him? We should march now."

"They would not dare kill him." Robb said quietly. "The entire North would rise up, and they do not want that. And you would have me march on King's Landing just with what remains of the Stark's men at arms. We need the fighting men of those Lord's who have pledged allegiance to our Father. We have to be smart Arya, we cannot let our emotions rule us."

For a moment, she said nothing, her cloudy grey eyes just glaring at Robb. Then remaining silent, she simply stormed out of hall, Rickon hot on her heels followed by Shaggydog and Nymeria. Brann just looked after her, before he placed his accusing eyes upon Robb. Robb closed his eyes. They were young, they didn't understand that he had to take his time. Hopefully he was acting in the correct manner. It was his father, who had taught him caution and he would make Ned proud. He could tell Bran wanted to say something to him, but he shook his head gently to show that he wouldn't listen. Instead he turned to Theon. "Follow her, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Robb knew his littlest sister well.

And so did Theon. He nodded his head to show that he understood. He hoped that he would be able to talk sense into the youngest Stark girl. He quickly left the hall and started to climb the stairs to her room. He doubted she would be there, but it was a good first place to look. There was always the hope that she had fled to her room in order to calm down. After reaching her door and knocking a few times, he realized that she wasn't there. He checked he kitchens and the armory, again to no avail. He sighed realizing that she had done exactly what he would have done if their situations were reversed. He soon found himself walking rapidly towards the stables.

She was there, just as he suspected, talking to her horse and trying to quietly saddle the creature. She hadn't noticed him enter the stall, so he leaned against a post, his arms crossed. "Where did you think you're going?" he asked with just a tad bit of amusement in his eyes. She obviously hadn't thought through this plan at all.

Her body stilled when he spoke and without looking at him she answered. "South, and neither you, nor my stupid brother, can stop me."

"No?" He looked at her curiously and he pushed himself away from the post and took a few steps towards her, perfectly aware he was invading her personal space. All trace of amusement had left his demeanor. He hoped he seemed threatening enough. He meant for his tone to hold a subtle danger to it, as if she should know better then to cross him.

"No." She said firmly, turning her body so she wouldn't be forced to look at him, but she didn't back away from him. He should have known she wouldn't be intimidated by him. "He's being stupid. And if anyone is going to go help my family it will be me." And with that, she went back to her work with the horse.

She raised a hand to fasten a strap on the saddle, he brought his hand up to stop her. She didn't like that and moved to shove him away but he held on to her wrist firmly. She was a tough little wolf, but he was stronger and he turned her so that she was facing him, and then pulled her flush against his body so he could hold her in a tight embrace that he knew she couldn't break. She wasn't happy with the situation and she struggled against him. Had this been any other situation, Theon might have been excited by being like this with her, but right now his sole purpose was to keep her safe.

"You can't do this, Arya." He said gently.

His soft tone seemed to deflate her temper a little bit and she stopped struggling. She leaned heavily against him, hating that his kindness was enough to make her start to tear up over the whole situation. "I have to. Sansa is all alone, my father…" she trailed off, not daring to think of what he's enduring.

"What were you going to do Little Wolf?" again his voice was gentle and there was a hint of a smile upon his lips, he admired her feisty spirit, but was amused by her lack of planning. "Ride the King"s Road by yourself? You'd get yourself raped and killed within a week." He muttered, not liking the thought of that outcome.

"I can handle myself." She said stubbornly.

He knew that she thought she could, but one woman against a whole band of bandits was laughable. But he couldn't bring himself to say that. "And food, water, coin?"

She paused a moment giving each in turn some thought. "Okay." She said finally. "Perhaps I didn't think this through as well as I should have." Her fists grasped his linen shirt and she fisted it tightly, almost as if she was using him as an anchor. For the moment, she felt at peace in his arms. She couldn't explain it, but she could not bring herself to step away from him, even though she wanted so badly to be doing something productive to help her Father and Sansa. "I have to do something. I can't just sit idly while Robb twiddles his thumbs and something awful happens."

He felt, that for now, she wouldn't bolt. He removed one arm from her waist but kept the other one firmly around her. With his free hand he gently tilted her chin so that she looked up at him. Her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Your brother is doing what he thinks is right. And don't forget that everything he knows, he learned from your father. If the situation should change for the worse he will act. That is why he is calling the banner men."

"I just have a bad feeling about all of this." She whispered.

"Nothing about this situation is easy. These next few weeks are going to be almost unbearable while we wait for the men to arrive. But try to be patient my lady" He said slyly, hoping his use of her title would break the tension.

"I'm not a lady." She said with a small, weak smile of her own.

"My lady," He said, but this time his tone was serious, serious enough to know that what he was about to say was going to be very grave, and she couldn't bring herself to chastise him for the use of her title. "Promise me you won't try to run away again." He saw that she was about to protest. "At least come to me before you do. If things turn bad, I promise I'll go with you. Just promise me you won't go alone."

His intensity silenced her. All she could do was look up at him and nod her head once to show him that she would promise to go to him if she felt the need to go to King's Landing. They stood like that, her in his arms, and pressed tightly against him. They just looked at each other intently for what felt like forever. Again he found himself in a situation where he felt the urge to kiss her. He knew he could not, but he could not bear to let her go either, so he just held her. Who knows how long they would have stayed if Osha hadn't interrupted them.

Osha had cleared her throat loudly to let the too highborns know that she was there. She had an amused smirk playing upon her lips, as they jumped apart when they realized they were no longer alone. "Lord Bran is looking for you m'lady." She said a bit gruffly.

Arya's brow furrowed and she shot the woman glare. She felt that Osha had disturbed a very intimate moment she had been having with Theon, and Arya was a little embarrassed by that. Without so much as a glance toward Theon, she stalked out of the stables in search of her little brother.

Osha couldn't help but laugh at this, then looked at Theon with a bit of a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Have ya claimed her yet m'lord?"

For a moment Thoen blanched at the very idea of doing what the wilding seemed to be implying. He had thought of taking her yes, he was a young man, of course he had, it was only natural. But he would never do that to her, disgrace her like that, especially when he wasn't sure what it was that she wanted. Hells, he doubted she even knew what she wanted when it came to him.

"Shut up." He muttered to Osha then he, too, stalked out of the stables, with her laugh ringing in his ears.


	11. Chapter 11

Winterfell was getting crowded again. The Lords of the North who had sworn fealty to House Stark had started arriving, ready to lend whatever strength they could to help Robb get Eddard and Sansa back. Seeing all the men who had come, gave some sense of relief to Arya. She felt a little more at ease knowing so many people were still loyal to the Starks. Perhaps the boy King would think twice about keeping her father captive, if he saw how serious the North was about protecting their own.

A lot of men had been gathered in Winterfell's hall, Arya was seated at an out of the way table with Bran and Rickon. Robb was at a table with several important Northern Lords. She had never met most them, but she could recognize certain ones merely by their reputation. She could easily pick out Lord Jon Umber, who was both tall and well muscled and had a rather forceful personality. It seemed Robb was having a hard time proving himself to the man at the moment. She recognized Lord Rickard Karstark and his sons from the sunburst sigil they wore upon their armor. And Lord Bolton, while he seemed a quiet and plain man, was the easiest to pick out. His eyes were pale and strange. When one looked him in the eye, one could tell there was a subtle, yet dangerous intelligence about him. Arya had heard rumors of his cruelty, but was unsure if they were true. But with a flayed man as the Bolton sigil, she wouldn't have been surprised if at least some of the tales held some truth.

Arya had been looking at Roose Bolton, contemplating what she knew of him, when he must felt her eyes upon him and turned his gaze to her. She had to suppress a cold shudder that had run through her body when her eyes held his strange gaze, before quickly turning her attention to Theon. He had chosen that moment to leave her brother's side and come to sit with her and her youngest brothers.

Theon had caught the brief moment of eye contact between the two and shook his head. "I am not ashamed to admit that that man unsettles me."

"Me too," Arya admitted.

"Well, if he unnerves the two of you," Bran said, "it makes me feel better knowing that he's on our side."

"Could you imagine having to meet him on the battle field. The eyes alone would be enough to send someone running in the other direction." Theon joked.

"So, what were they discussing over there?" Arya asked, quickly changing the subject and nodding over to where Robb sat. She was interested to know her brother's plans.

"I think they were discussing your brother's abilities to lead." Theon sighed. "I believe the Greatjon doesn't think he has it in him. It got boring after awhile, which is why I'm now here, sitting with you."

It was just then that a rather large commotion from the very table they had been discussing had caught their attention. Grey Wind had jumped upon the table, lunged at Lord Umber who had stood up while pulling out his sword, and then pointed it at Robb. He didn't get much of a chance to do anything else, as the wolf bit at Umber's hand. The sword clattered to the stone floor, and the Greatjon cried out in pain and surprise. He held up his hand, showing that the wolf had taken two of his fingers. For a moment everyone was silent. Arya frowned slightly as she looked at the bloodied hand of one of the men who had come to fight for her family. Theon's face was a mask of shock. Bran looked pale, he was still just getting used to the blood and violence that sometimes happened in his world. Rickon simply hid his hands behind his eyes, scared of what might happen next.

But Robb, Robb surprised them all. He had stood up and held his ground against Lord Umber, showing no fear at the man's temper. Robb had proudly chastised the the man for threatening him, Lord Stark, his liege lord. Everyone's attention turned to Umber to see how he would take the young Lord Stark's words. To everyone's great surprise, Lord Umber laughed and made some flippant comment. Apparently, Robb had now proved himself to Jon Umber and everyone went back to their own conversations.

Arya blinked in surprised. "You might be happy to have Lord Bolton on our side, Bran, but I'm happy the Umbers are with us too." Bran nodded his head in agreement.

"It's true the Northerners do breed dangerous men." Theon commented. "And it's a good thing Robb is starting to impress them." He added gravely.

"Why?" Arya asked, now looking at Theon, growing concerned at his tone.

"He wants to march sooner then he would have liked. Within a few days actually." He answered quietly.

"But why? Many of the smaller houses haven't arrived yet." Bran asked.

"Your mother has lost the Imp." Theon stated.

"How could she have lost Tyrion Lannister? Did he escape?" Arya asked, anger starting to color her tone.

"Your brother got a raven from Lady Catelyn this morning. Since your aunt was so set on putting him on trial, he demanded trial by combat, and he won." Theon shrugged.

"How could he do that?" Bran asked, genuinely curious about how he had been able to fight.

"He bought himself a champion, supposedly a sell sword fought for him, was able to beat Lady Lysa's champion, and then Tryion was allowed to walk free." Theon looked at Arya wondering how she would take the news. He was not surprised when he saw her bow furrow in anger and a frown tugged down at the corners of her lips.

"That means we have no more leverage in which to bargain with, nothing to trade for Father and Sansa." Arya said trying to keep her voice even, and calm.

"No, that's not true." Bran spoke up.

"He's right." Theon put in. "Your brother has a number of men at his disposal now. If King Joffrey knows what's good for the realm, he won't want to risk a Northern rebellion. Hopefully his advisors will make him understand that. Your brother's position is only slightly weakened without Tyrion Lannister. If Robb starts marching South, the South might get nervous."

"Where does he plan on going?" Arya asked sullenly.

"Your mother is leaving the Eyrie and he wants to meet her at Moat Cailin. It's a good place to stage any sort of campaign against the South. From there, he'll want to try and get Walder Frey's help at the Twins and since your mother has ties to the Riverlands, she might be able help forge an alliance." Theon explained.

"I don't suppose Robb would let me go with?" While there was a small amount of hope that he would, she knew that it was unlikely.

"I highly doubt that." Theon chuckled.

—

Theon found his way down to the great hall. It was late at night, but there was still several people bustling about. Apparently on the eve of a march, sleep was at a premium. The air was full of a nervous energy, which was understandable. Who knew what the next few weeks would bring? The stakes were too high and Theon supposed with that much stress and worry, sleep wouldn't come easy come easily. At least that's how he had felt and that's why he found himself so restless. It appeared that the one person he wanted to talk to was just as restless as he was.

Robb sat at a table that was near the hall's large hearth. He gave off the impression that he was studying the maps before him, but Theon saw that blank look in his eyes, he wasn't truly looking at them. He wondered what was going on in his friend's mind at that moment. The others that were in the hall seemed to be leaving him alone with his thoughts. There were small groups of people scattered around, some drinking, most talking, some were even laughing. They were all trying to get a few more moments of peace before they had to leave. But Robb sat alone.

Theon made his way over to Robb slowly. He didn't bother to say anything when he reached the table, he just sat down across from his friend. Robb looked up at the movement, and Theon thought he detected a sliver in relief when he saw that it was just him. "Couldn't sleep?" Theon asked.

"No, I have too much on my mind to sleep." Robb raised a hand to rub his tired eyes and sighed. They said nothing for a moment, both of their minds on the future. When Robb spoke again, his voice was quiet. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing? Maybe Lord Umber was right, I'm too young to lead all of this."

Theon chuckled lightly. "With the way you and Grey Wind handled him? No, I don't think you're too young." Theon became serious. "And you are doing the right thing. You know as well as I do, that your father would never commit treason. This is just the latest attack the Lannisters have thrown at the Starks. You have to free your father, you have to do what is best for your house."

"Aye," Robb's tone was grave, but he agreed with Theon.

"You're scared." It wasn't a question.

"Aye." Robb was not afraid to admit that.

"That's a good thing, it will keep you smart," said Theon.

"I get the feeling they might smell the fear on me." Robb said nodding his head at some of the men who were drinking in a corner.

"And they know that you're still willing to do what has to be done. You kept your calm well enough when Umber went after you." Theon said. "These men probably wouldn't follow you if they thought you fearless. Fearless men can be foolish, and foolishness can get a lot of men killed. Your father taught me that, so I know he taught you that too. Stop doubting yourself. Luwin would scold you if he heard you talking like this."

Robb let out a small laugh. "That's why I'm talking to you about it. I don't want to disappoint anyone."

Theon raised an eyebrow at this. "It's okay if you disappoint me?"

"Nope, I don't care so much what you think about me." Robb teased, and was answered with a mock glare from his friend. "You know that's not it. I guess I just trust you to give me a swift kick to the arse if I need it. You don't have any of the expectations the others have of me."

"Oh, I have those expectations Robb." Theon said. "I just know that you're not going to let me down. I'm not worried about that."

"At least that's someone," Robb lamented.

Theon didn't say it, but he doubted he was the only one who had that much faith in Robb. Instead he let the conversation fade into a lull. There was a reason he couldn't sleep, and that he had been hoping to find Robb here. The problem was, that now that he found him, he wasn't sure how to broach the subject. He shifted uncomfortably on the bench in which he sat.

Robb sensed that Theon wanted to discuss something other than Robb's self-doubt. What ever it was, he also figured out that Theon didn't know how to start, so he gave him some help. "Why couldn't you sleep?"

Theon opened his mouth, then closed it thinking better of the words he wanted to utter. There was a few more seconds of silence before he opened his mouth again. "How much do you trust me?"

Bewildered Robb answered quickly, he didn't need to think about his answer. "With my life."

Robb's quick answer brought a small smile to Theon's lips, it was good to know where he stood with his friend, but he also knew he was about to ask Robb something that might not be so easy for him to agree to. "Do you trust me enough to stay in Winterfell when you march South?" He couldn't bring himself to look at his friend when he asked.

For a moment Robb didn't say anything. He let Theon's words just sink into his mind. Almost everyone would think it foolish for Robb not to bring Theon with him. In reality, Theon was still a hostage of the Starks, despite the friendship he had forged with both himself and his little sister. To any outsider it would seem that if Robb left Theon at Winterfell, without himself or Eddard to look after him, it would give Theon a perfect opportunity to try and make an escape. It might make Robb look weak to his bannermen if he let Theon stay behind, but Robb had a feeling he knew why Theon was asking what he did. "You want to stay with her don't you?"

Theon finally looked up at Robb, knowing he would have figured that much out on his own. "You know she'll run. If for some reason the gods decided that they want to take you or your father, Arya will run. She'll get some stupid idea that she has to go and save Sansa or get some sort of revenge on the Lannisters, and she would do it by herself. She thinks she can take on the world."

"And you think you can stop her?" Robb sounded amused by this.

"Or go with her." Theon shrugged. "She listens to me sometimes. But if she really gets an idea into her head, I won't be able to stop her. But I can go with her, protect her as well as I can." He quickly went on. "And it's not just about her. I can help look after your brothers. With Ser Rodrik gone, I can at least take command of the men-at-arms that you leave at Winterfell. I can help protect your House here."

While Robb trusted his friend, he still had the problem of how it might look to the other Lords. "And how would I explain your staying on at Winterfell, when most expect you to go to arms with the rest of us?"

"I don't know," Theon mourned. "Tell them you'll keep a guard on me. Tell them the truth. Tell them you trust me as a brother. We grew up together Robb. I've lived here longer then I've lived at Pyke. It wouldn't be too far fetched."

"Some of these Lords don't trust the Greyjoys." Robb said grimly.

Theon couldn't help but wince at that. "I'm not asking them or you to trust my family. I'm asking you to trust me. And they trust you."

"We've already established that I trust you." Robb stated, he let out a small resigned sigh. "Fine. I'll deal with the bannermen. If I'm being honest, I'd feel safer with you here anyway."

Theon couldn't help but smile sheepishly, he had actually gotten what he wanted. Then he frowned a little when he realized what that would mean. "Does this make me a coward. Asking to stay behind when there might be a war on the horizon."

"No, I think it makes you brave because it means you have to try and rein in Arya." Robb answered with a short laugh, then more seriously, "that and it just tells me how in love with her you really are."

—

It had been days since Robb left with the host of Northern Men he had gathered. It took only seven days for Arya to get over the fact that her brother hadn't even considered the notion that she would be allowed to go with him. She had ranted and raved at him, but Robb had stood firm in his decision that she would stay with her two youngest brothers in Winterfell. But once she was over that fact, she became downright pleasant to be around. She was secretly pleased that Robb had elected to keep Theon at Winterfell too. At least they could commiserate together at being left behind. It never occurred to her to think that he might have asked to stay back.

The days since Robb left had been filled with Bran, holding court over the small folk. Arya might have been offended that she hadn't been asked to do that, if she hadn't thought that particular job was a complete bore. With Maester Luwin's help, Bran seemed more then adequate at the job. Often times while Bran was busy with that, she would slip out of the main hall to find Theon, who kept busy with the men-at-arms who Robb had left for their protection. That's where she found him on this particular day, sparring with practice swords against one of the guards.

Arya perched herself upon a railing of a fence as she watched him dance around the yard. It was not as graceful as her water dance, but he was adequate in what he was doing. She did note that he was better with the bow. After a few minutes he must have noticed that he was being watched by her and nodded to the guard to let him know that they were done for the day. He handed the man the sword he had been using and then started towards Arya as she jumped off the fence.

"You know, I think I could probably beat you in a spar now." She said off-handedly to him, but her smirk told him that she was goading him.

He let out a small chuckle. "You think so?" He had no doubt that she could. She spent most of her mornings with that 'dancing' instructor and he watched her most of the time. She was improving. She wasn't strong, but she was quick and agile. While she might not be able to make a killing blow upon an enemy, he had no doubt that she could annoy an enemy by slicing him him up. She was better with her little Needle then he was with a sword. He was man enough to admit that, at least to himself. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of letting her know that he knew it.

"Absolutely." Arya said with certainty, her smirk grew a bit. "We could see if I'm right." She put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

Theon shook his head, smiling at her enthusiasm. "Not right now Little Wolf. I'm exhausted and starving."

She extended her index finger and jabbed him in the chest with a smile. "Or you are just scared that you'll be beat by a girl."

"Ah yes, you figured me out." He laughed as he moved his hand to his heart as if it was wounded. "It would cause me so much shame." Then he let his hand drop to his side and started to head towards the kitchens. "Come on, let's get something to eat."

"But I'm not hungry," she pouted.

"Then keep me company, my lady." He gave her what he considered his most charming smile.

To answer him, Arya simply rolled her eyes, but moved to follow him. They walked a bit before she spoke again. "Do you think Robb has reached Moat Cailin by now?"

Theon raised his eyes at the question. It was the first time she had brought up Robb in days. He had supposed it was because she was worried about the consequences of what her brother was about to do. With Tyrion worming his way out of her mother's care, the Lannisters must have felt more sure of themselves. Not long after Robb had left, Luwin had received word that Tywin and Jaime Lannister were both raising armies to meet Robb in the Riverlands. He could tell she was a little scared, even if she did try to hide it.

"Probably." He said. "Your mother is probably there by now too. Who knows they might even be on their way to the Twins. We'll probably be getting a raven soon. Robb said he'd try to keep us updated. But don't get worried if it takes a little while, he might get busy or distracted." He added quickly.

Arya gave him a withering glare. "I know how war works Theon. I'm not going to expect weekly updates from him."

"Okay, okay." Said Theon surrendering. "I didn't mean to offend you." They had reached the kitchens and he found himself an apple, cheese, and was able to talk a serving boy into fetching him a mug of ale. He looked to Arya once his hands were full. "Is Bran still hearing his people's grievances?"

Arya nodded her head, despite saying she wasn't hungry she managed to snag herself an apple as well. She had just taken a bit so she wasn't able to talk, but she nodded to the servants table in an out of the way spot in the kitchen. Theon nodded his head and made his way over to take a seat.

Arya sat next to him as she swallowed the piece of the apple. "Do you think Walder Frey is going to let us use that bridge? People don't say the kindest things about the Frey's…" she trailed off.

Theon snorted. "People don't say the kindest thing about the Greyjoys either."

Giving him a sideways glance, she murmured, "not all members of a house should be judged by their entire family."

"Then maybe we shouldn't think the worst of the Frey's. Even if Walder himself doesn't have the most appealing reputation. The negotiations will probably be difficult for Robb. But if he brings your mother along like planned, Frey might be more amendable, since his liege lord is Hoster Tully." Theon shugged. "Robb will find a way. Don't doubt that."

"I know." Arya said quietly.

Theon shook his head with a smile, "stop worrying."

For awhile they stayed there, talking quietly. Theon steering the topic away from the Stark problems, trying to keep the conversation lighter. He didn't need Arya restless and worrisome, she might get ideas of doing something to 'help' and he might not be able to talk her out of it. They had been so lost in their conversation that they didn't notice the Maester had slipped into the kitchens looking for them. Luwin watched the two of them quietly for a moment, and as he did so a quiet sadness seemed to fill him. He carried with him a rolled piece of parchment in his hands. Robb had sent them a letter telling them of how his plans were progressing.

Luwin let out a small sigh before clearing his throat to get the couple's attention. When the two brought their attention fully to him he offered them a small smile. "I have news." He lifted the parchment to show them what he meant, and they had rightly figured it was from Robb. "Bran has dismissed the rest of the people who had wanted an audience with the Starks. Come to the great hall, I'll fill you all in on what your brother has to say."

His tone had Arya nervous, if Robb had good news, wouldn't the Maester be a little more upbeat? "Is everything okay? Is it mother?" She asked standing up quickly. Theon followed suit, also wondering what reason Luwin would have to be upset.

Luwin closed his eyes, and shook his head. He hadn't meant to worry them like that, when he opened his eyes he seemed to have collected himself and managed a more sincere smile. "No, it's nothing like that. Your mother met Robb at Moat Cailin as planned, both her and Rodrik were well."

Arya seemed visibly relieved. "Okay, good. Then let's go. I want to hear what Robb has been up to." With that she started off towards the main hall.

Theon held back for a moment and he looked to Luwin. He still knew that the man was hiding something. "What is it?" He asked quietly, as he came to stand next to Luwin.

"Hmm?" The Maester seemed to be lost in thought as he had watched Arya walk out of the room. "Oh, it's…it's nothing. Just that, you children are growing up much faster then you should have to." He patted Theon on the shoulder, almost as if to reassure the boy. "Come, I have much to tell you all." Theon followed him as Luwin started to leave.

When all of them were gathered around where Bran had been sitting, the Maester began. "Your brother has managed to gain Walder Frey's allegiance, and with it a promise to use the bridge and a large force of mounted Frey knights and foot soldiers. Your mother, apparently played a pivotal roll in the negotiations."

Theon felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. Robb had gained much by a Frey alliance. He looked to Bran who also wore a relieved smile. Then his attention wandered to Arya, who looked happy too. Only Maester Luwin still seemed somber.

Arya spoke up quickly. "That's a good thing. Right?"

"Yes." Luwin admitted. "But it came at a cost," was his simple answer.

After hearing that, Theon felt suspicion creeping into his thoughts. "What did Robb have to promise?"

"He is to marry one of Frey's daughters. Walder has graciously agreed to let him choose which of them he would like." Luwin seemed hesitant to go on, but Theon, Bran, and Arya knew there was more to it.

Theon felt a lump start to form in his throat. He had a terrible idea of where this was going. "And what else?" He managed to get out.

For a moment the Maester said nothing. He knew that Theon was not stupid, of course he would have figured out what Luwin was going to say next. However before he went on, he handed Theon a small slip of parchment. "Robb wanted to make sure that you got this." He watched as Theon just nodded his head, he jaw was set, and he had a mixture of hurt and anger swimming in his eyes. But he took the small note Robb had sent him.

Arya watched the short exchange. She wasn't stupid either, she could deduce what was going on too. The suspicion of what was happening was starting to make her angry. She was of a certain age after all, and Walder had whole bunch of sons who needed wives. It all added up. But she wanted to hear it from Luwin. "What?" Her voice sounded dangerous. "Please tell me he didn't 'sell' me, too."

Luwin sighed, and he looked to Theon for help, but from the look on the boy's face, he knew that he was on his own. Instead of saying a word, Theon simply stood up and with the parchment firmly gripped in his hand he purposefully walked out of the hall. He clearly didn't want to be around anyone, and if truth be told Luwin didn't blame him. He knew how the boy felt about Arya.

"Well?" Arya's enraged tone pulled him out of his reverie. She gave one annoyed glance to Theon as he left the room. It didn't help her mood to feel that she had been abandoned by him. Then brought her stormy grey eyes back to Luwin.

"Once your father is returned to us, and this whole mess is behind us. You are to marry Lord Walder's youngest son Elmar."

"I refuse." She said simply.

"Arya, you can't." Said Bran, clearly feeling a mix of fear and anger for his sister.

"Bran is right, child." Luwin said. "Your brother needs that bridge if he's to meet the Lannister men. They have stepped up their offensive. Jaime Lannister has taken siege of Riverrun and Tywin seems to be focused on the rest of the Riverlands. He needs this alliance with the Frey's."

"But why does it have to be at my expense!" Arya practically yelled.

"Wouldn't you say it was a small price to pay for your father's safe return?" Luwin tried to persuade her to calm down. "Or Sansa's?"

"We don't even know if this will help us get them back!" she spat.

"But if it could, wouldn't you want to do anything you could to help? You ranted and raved at Robb that you wanted to help, and now you have your chance." Bran pointed out.

"I didn't want to have to give up my whole life for the cause." She said lowly and then stomped out of the hall following the direction that Theon had gone in. She was angry with him for leaving her the way that he had, just when he knew she would need him the most. She knew he had figured it out, what Robb had given the Frey's at the exact same time she did. He knew she wouldn't be happy. Yet he left her and she was angry with him for it. But at the same time he was the only one she wanted to be with right now.

Arya stormed up to where his room was. She stopped to stand in the open doorway. She looked in to see him sitting on his bed, his elbows at his knees, his head was bent down so she couldn't see his face. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she took in his dejected posture. Being with him reminded her just what she was losing now that Robb had made that promise to Lord Frey. She didn't know what would become of her friendship with Theon. Near her feet she noticed the small piece of parchment that must have been Robb's letter to Theon. It was crumpled and she bent down to pick it up.

The movement must have caught Theon attention because he looked up at her, just as she straightened up. She looked at him carefully, any anger she had felt when she had first come into the room was gone. He seemed just as shaken as she was. "This is really happening isn't it?" She asked him quietly as she stepped further into the room, so that she was standing in front of where he sat.

He didn't trust himself to say anything. He never really thought she could ever be his, but now all of his hope was gone. All he could do was nod his head yes.

She couldn't stand that sad, haunted look that was playing in his eyes so she brought her attention down to what she held in her hands. She could still feel his eyes on her as she straightened the parchment out so that she could see what Robb had said to Theon. Why were her hands shaking so bad? It took her a few seconds to make sense of the words that were written on the small sheet. It was only one simple line.

Theon, I am so sorry.-Robb

Those words seemed to make her heart hurt even more then it had been hurting a few seconds ago. "Why is he saying sorry to you?" She looked up at him, there was a sliver of anger in her that resented the fact that her brother deemed to more important to apologize to him, rather than to her. But she was also confused as to why he would feel the need to apologize to him at all.

"You seriously don't know?" He had finally found his voice, and there was tone of incredulousness. "Gods we've been dancing around each other for weeks. He knew how I felt. I think everyone knew how I felt. You were giving me signs, I thought you felt the same. He knew that," it almost seemed like he was having trouble getting the next part out, "that I lo-"

He was interrupted when she had leaned forward, she let the parchment drift to the floor as she lifted her hands and placed them gently on his cheeks and then kissed him gently upon his lips. The move had even surprised Arya, but she knew what he was about to say to her, and she wasn't sure if she could bear it.

To say that having her kiss him was a shock would have been an understatement. For a brief second he wasn't sure of what he should do. She was kissing him! And those soft, hesitant lips upon his made him forget even for just a moment that she did not belong to him, that she never would. So he did the only thing he could, he deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him, so she stood between his legs as he sat. Her hands moved from his cheeks and her arms slid around his neck. She lost her footing and tumbled down so that she was sitting on one of his legs. But through it all, their lips didn't break contact.

When they did feel the need to break for air, Theon kept his eyes closed and rested his forehead against hers. The kiss, while amazing, better even then his dreams of her had been, it had made his heart ache. "Why did you do that Arya?" His voice was a ragged whisper.

Her heart felt heavy. That kiss had only confirmed what she had been trying to hide from herself for a very long time. She was in love with Theon Greyjoy, and there was nothing she could do about it. He was lost to her, just when she had figured out her feelings for him. She couldn't tell him the real reason she kissed him, for the same reasons she didn't want to hear that four letter word from him. They could do nothing about it. Instead she whispered, "I did it because I wanted to, I think I've wanted to for a long time now. I knew you wouldn't do it, and I might have never gotten another chance to do so."

He opened his eyes, pulled back slightly, and smiled at her sadly. "We could run away." There was no conviction in his statement.

Her smile matched his. "And go where, to your Iron Islands? You would steal me away and I could be your salt wife? Isn't that what they would call me because of your Old Way?" She was trying to joke, to make light of the situation.

His face became serious, as his grip on her tightened. "Don't joke like that, you would be more then that to me, you have to know that."

"Ahh, but I couldn't become your 'rock wife,' I am not Iron Born." She still joked, she couldn't help it, she feared that if she became serious she would start to cry at her situation. She hated crying. She couldn't cry, not in front of him.

"Arya, stop." He said firmly. "They are called the Old Ways for a reason, they're not supposed to be followed anymore. At least not by me."

"I know," she whispered. "It doesn't matter anyway, because we wouldn't do it. If we did Robb would feel obligated to bring me back to keep the Frey's appeased. And I wouldn't have you two fighting each other. It wouldn't feel right."

"I know." He said, closing his eyes again. They sat there, her on his lap and in his arms. They seemed to be trying to soak up as much intimacy with each other as they could. They didn't think they would ever have another moment like this. He didn't want it to end, but he knew it had to. "You should go." He whispered.

"I know." She said again, but she made no move to stand up. "Promise me you won't let this change things between us."

He raised a hand to trace his finger on her chin. "You know it will."

"Can't we just pretend?" Arya asked hopefully.

Theon chuckled lightly. "We can try." But he doubted that they could, their feelings were too out in the open now.

"Then promise me that we'll try." She was almost pleading now.

"I promise I'll try." He said solemnly.

"I promise too." Arya said, her eyes serious as she stared into his. "I cannot lose you yet, Theon."

"I'll always be here for you, Little Wolf." He tipped her chin so that he could lightly peck her lips. It wasn't as passionate as their first kiss had been, but it ignited a spark within him. How was he going to pretend things were normal between them? He pulled away quickly before she could deepen the kiss, even though he wanted her too. "For as long as you need me, I'll be here. But you need to go, before someone catches you in here. A proper lady wouldn't find herself alone in a young man's bedroom."

"I'm not a lady." She said with a half hearted smile as she slowly started to stand up. Her hands fell away from him, and he felt cold when he lost contact with her. "I'll talk to you soon?" She asked expectantly, as she started to back away from him.

"I doubt I could hide from you even if I tried." His attempt at light-heartedness also coming up short.

"You're right, you couldn't." She said, and lied to herself by thinking that maybe they wouldn't have such a hard time pretending. With that said, she quickly slipped out of his room, and fled toward her own.

He watched her leave, his heart breaking. He knew that she would see her again, they had months, maybe years even, before she would have to marry that Frey boy. But they wouldn't talk about what had happened here this afternoon. He knew that both of them would not acknowledge their feelings for each other again out loud, or they would risk a harder heart break later on. Maybe that's why it felt like he was saying his final good bye to her.


	12. Chapter 12

The weeks that followed were strange for Arya and Theon. They had made good on their promise to each other to try and not let their feelings make things complicated. For awhile it seemed to work. When they were around others they could put on a pretense that things were okay between them. They kept their banter light, but to those that knew them, like Bran and Luwin, they could tell that it was forced.

It could be seen when Arya and Theon were in the same room, they would subconsciously be drawn to each other. Like they needed to be near each other, but if one of their hands brushed against the other's, they would jump apart like they'd been burned. There would be stolen glances when one of them thought that the other wasn't looking. And if their gazes happened to cross, they averted their eyes so they wouldn't have to acknowledge the hurt and sadness that they both felt.

They rarely found themselves alone together anymore, and when they were it would be awkward.. It seemed like both of them were afraid of what might happen if they were in a situation where it was just the two of them. They missed each other terribly. Sure they saw each other, and talked about trivial things, but everything seemed so…polite, like they were just passing acquaintances. Not the friends that they had become, not two people who had so recently admitted to each other just how much they meant to each other.

Arya had started to lose sleep. She had too many thoughts floating around in her mind. Thoughts of a future with a man she didn't know left her unsettled. There was still an anger that lingered within her that was directed at her mother and Robb for making her marry someone she didn't love. She tried to push that resentment aside, arguing with her own thoughts that they did what they had to do. And it wasn't as if Robb was asking her to do something that he himself wasn't doing. She tried not to think of Theon, but he was always there in the back of her mind, reminding her of a possible future she had lost. When she did sleep, she had dreams that were unsettling and that never made sense to her.

One morning after a particularly bad night of sleep, Arya found her way down to the great hall. It was mostly empty, only one person sat at a table nearest the hearth breaking his fast. Since her day was already starting out badly, of course that one person was Theon. She was tired, and didn't know if she the strength to keep up the pretense of everything being fine with them that morning. She contemplated turning around and going back up to her room. Maybe she could have a servant bring up her breakfast, spend the day in her room , and feign sickness.

Theon must have heard her enter the room. He didn't look up from his food, but he seemed to have an idea in his mind about what she was thinking. "You can stay Arya, I'm not going to bite."

Her brow furrowed in annoyance. "I know that." She snapped. She sighed regretting her harsh tone as soon as she uttered the words. "Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night." She said as she made her way to the table. She sat down on the bench across from him.

He gave her a glance and instantly knew she was telling the truth. There were dark circles around her eyes and she looked exhausted. "It's okay. I think I understand." He answered her with sympathy, of course he would understand her state of mind, probably better than anyone.

She kept her eyes averted from his, but she could feel him watching her. She tried to ignore it, as she helped herself to some of the breakfast the servants had set out. "Where is everyone?" It seemed like a safe topic for them.

Theon noticed that she was purposely not looking at him, but he continued to watch her. He was tired of trying to avoid her, of pretending that they didn't mean anything to each other. He thought that maybe if he stared at her hard enough, she would look back at him. And he didn't know, maybe they could figure things out, or work it out enough that they could go back to the way things had been before. "Rickon wanted to go outside and play with Shaggydog and I think Maester Luwin took Bran to the crypts. Probably to teach him some lesson about your ancestors, or something."

Still feeling his eyes on her, she reluctantly looked to him. She wanted to glare at him and to yell at him to stop being so gods damned annoying, but when he mentioned that Bran had gone down to the crypts, she shuddered a little.

Of course he noticed her reaction. "What is it?" He asked, concern coloring his tone. It wasn't like her to get nervous over such a trivial thing as Winterfell's crypts. He knew for a fact that she had played down their when she was younger along with her older siblings.

"It's nothing." She muttered and then looked down at the food in front of her that she hadn't yet touched. She wasn't very hungry, she realized.

Almost hesitantly Theon reached out across the table to rest his hand on top of hers. He felt her moving to pull it away from him, but he tightened his grip on it. They were acting stupid, being scared of touching each other, being scared of their feelings for each other, especially when it was so obvious that she needed him right now. "I told you, I was always going to be here for you." He said, and with those words he managed to get her to look at him again. "Something is wrong. Tell me."

For a moment, it seemed as if she didn't want to say, in her mind, the reason for her unease was not logical. They were just dreams and she was worried that he wouldn't take her seriously. But when she looked into his eyes, she knew that he would, he was worried for her. His hand upon hers was warm and filled with reassurance. He made her feel safe. She let out a small sigh. "These past few nights, I've had dreams. Dreams of dark places, that I couldn't really identify. They felt familiar, but everything was so dark that I couldn't tell where I was."

"You think the dreams are of the crypts?" Theon asked holding on to her gaze.

"Last night, everything seemed to become clear." Arya nodded quietly. "My father was there."

"I…I can see where that might be a bit unsettling." He muttered.

"He told me not to be afraid." Arya shrugged a little. "It kind of seemed like a goodbye."

He squeezed her hand lightly, again hoping to lend her a little reassurance and strength. "It was just a dream. You've had too many shocks and too much on your mind these past few weeks. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"You've had dreams too?" Bran asked anxiously. Theon and Arya turned to see Bran, being carried by Osha, with Rickon by her side. Behind them Maester Luwin stood, a deep frown on his face. They must have come into the hall unnoticed by the two of them and heard them talking.

"What do you mean, too?" Asked Theon, worry clearly playing in his eyes.

"The little Lords have been dreamin'." Osha said, clearly meaning Bran and Rickon.

"About Father?" Arya asked, she looked at Rickon, who said nothing, but he clearly looked scared.

She looked to Bran and he simply nodded his head. Then added, "He was in the crypts."

—

Later that evening, when everyone seemed to have moved on from the shock that the three Stark children left at Winterfell were having similar dreams, Theon found himself in the Maester's tower knocking on Luwin's door. The Maester had tried to assure them all that the dreams were simply a coincidence and he was surprised more people hadn't had similar dreams. There was too much tension and worry among everyone at Winterfell, that it made sense for people would have nightmares. But Theon could tell, that even as the man was trying to reassure them, he didn't completely believe his own words. Theon wanted to talk to the man by himself, when he didn't have to keep Arya and the boys calm. He wanted truths.

The Maester must not have heard his first knock, because he didn't answer. Theon's knock became a bit more forceful. "Maester Luwin?" He called through the door.

"Come in, Theon." Luwin called out, and even through the wooden door Theon could tell that his voice was strained.

Theon opened the door with trepidation. When he saw the Maester's ashen colored face, he knew immediately that something was wrong. "What is it?" He asked as soon as he stepped through the room's threshold.

Luwin motioned toward the chair that was across from his own at the desk. "Sit." He knew Theon would need to sit down before he heard the news. Theon did as he was told, the fear sitting cold in his stomach. For a moment neither of them said anything. Luwin didn't know how to break the news to the young man before him. He didn't know what the reaction would be. He watched as Theon became more agitated, and he knew that he had to say something.

"Lord Robb has won his first victory." Luwin started. "He managed to break the siege at Riverrun, and Jaime Lannister is now enjoying Robb's hospitality." Luwin noticed that Theon's demeanor became less tense, and he could tell that the boy was about to crack a bit of a smile. He wished that was the only news he had to break to the boy. He held up a hand, to keep Theon from talking. "That's not all." And Theon's worry came back almost instantly. "But it was too late."

"What was too late?" Theon finally broke in, his voice fill of concern.

Again, Luwin remained silent as he tried to come up with a way to deliver the news that still had him in shock. The ravens had only come in an hour ago. He still couldn't believe the news that they had brought. It didn't seem real. He supposed there was no way to soften the blow. So he looked carefully at Theon. "King Joffrey," he paused, it seemed a lot harder to get the words out then Luwin thought it would be. Probably because he knew that once he said the words it would become real. "King Joffrey sentenced Lord Eddard Stark to death. He's dead, Theon."

For a moment, to Theon, it seemed like all the air had been sucked out of the room. There was a loud, blaring sound rushing in his ears and he didn't think he could speak. Even if he knew what to say. The man who had raised him, was dead. His life taken from him, by a spoilt boy King, who probably had no idea what taking Eddard Stark's life would actually mean. Robb had no choice now. This meant war. Gods Robb…what must he be going through? Lady Catelyn she must be inconsolable. And what was Theon doing? Sitting here like an idiot gapping at Maester Luwin.

"Do Bran and Rickon know? Does Arya know?" He was worried about all the Starks, but Arya, she always came first. Especially because this would be the time where she would do something crazy, and he wasn't sure he could do enough to stop her.

The Maester shook his head. "You're the first person I have told." For the first time Theon had ever known, Luwin seemed lost, like he didn't know what to do and it shook Theon. The man always seemed to be a rock, a center of strength and wisdom. "I don't know how to do it. I was hoping you would go to Arya. I don't think anyone else can talk to her."

"I…" Theon started and then almost seemed to choke on his words. The King had killed Eddard Stark. It was like he couldn't stop thinking those words, like he couldn't wrap his mind around them. "I can try." His voice sounded hollow in his ears.

"Theon, you have to get it through her head what this means. What the King has done, it's going to mean war. Robb and the North cannot allow this to go unanswered. King Joffrey went too far." Luwin said seriously. "She cannot leave Winterfell, it's too dangerous. Robb shouldn't have to worry about his little sister."

"What of his other sister, is Sansa okay?" Theon asked dully. The poor girl must have been terrified. She was alone in King's Landing with no one to watch over her. Arya was not going to like that.

"Still a ward of the Crown." Luwin's voice was just as dull. "Still denouncing her brother's actions and calling him traitor."

"And still to marry the King?" Theon asked. It seemed like the thing to ask, but he was pretty much doing things automatically. He wasn't really thinking, he had a feeling that if he gave anything too much thought he might break down completely.

Having Theon there to ask questions seemed to be helping Luwin along too, he seemed to be gathering what little strength he had left. He would need it to help him get through the next few hours. "Unfortunately she is."

"Did Robb have the Kingslayer before or after the execution?" Theon asked brittlely.

"As far as I know, the Battle of Whispering Woods happened before the execution. But I don't think word reached King's Landing that Jaime had been captured until after." Luwin sighed and closed his tired eyes. "If it had, Ned might have been saved. There could have been a treaty."

Theon felt himself gritting his teeth, everything seemed to be working against the Starks. "Robb won't trade Jaime for Sansa. Even if he wanted to, the Northern Lords would never agree to it. Jaime Lannister is a valuable prize." Theon looked down at the floor. "For all the good it's going to do Robb now. I hope he knows what he's doing."

"He does." Luwin said.

"For House Stark, I hope you're right. I fear what will happen to them, to Bran and Rickon, to Arya, if Robb dies." Theon shook his head, not wanting to think about the consequences. He needed to change the subject. His voice becoming quiet as he stood up. He needed to get out of this room, he needed a moment alone. "I'll talk to Arya. Do you want me to tell the boys too?"

"No," Luwin looked at Theon, he was concerned for him. He knew that Theon had promised Robb to look after his youngest siblings. No one knew that they would have to deal with something this devastating. He probably felt like he had a huge weight upon his shoulders. "I'll take care of it. You just worry about Lady Arya, she's going to need you."

For a moment Theon stood there still and silent. Finally one single thought came to his mind. That Arya, Bran, Rickon, they already knew Lord Stark was going to die. Or at least they did subconsciously. "Their dreams…"

"I know." Luwin said quietly.

"What does it all mean?" Theon asked a hint of fear coming through in his words.

"That, I do not know." The Maester said, his own worries about the issue were bothering him as well.

Theon nodded his head. He didn't know what else to say, all words seemed to be escaping him. He walked quietly to the door. On the very short walk to the threshold all the grief and anger that he was trying to suppress seemed to come welling up inside of him. In one brief moment he just wanted to let out one act of aggression, so he didn't have to feel so helpless. So he did the only thing he could do, before he stepped outside of the Maester's office room, he balled his hand into a fist and punched the stone wall by the door. With a loud curse he winced, because of course the wall hurt him, while he did no damage to the wall. His knuckles were split, and there was a small amount of blood, not to mention that his hand sung with pain. But he didn't mind, it would help him to keep his mind focused.

Theon looked to the Maester with a blank face. "Sorry about that."

Luwin shook his head, "no I quite understand the sentiment. Will your hand be okay, would you like me to treat it."

Theon looked down at his hand. He opened his fist and the closed it again, it hurt to move his fingers, but he didn't think anything was broken. "I'll be fine." Then he slipped out of the room, trying to mentally prepare himself for the conversation he was about to have.

—

Theon stood at Arya's door staring blankly at it for probably about ten minutes. He had come straight from Luwin's rooms, his hand still throbbing and his mind still empty. He had no idea how he was going to tell Arya. So many thoughts rattled in his brain. Why had he agreed to be the one to tell her? It was a stupid question, even when he asked himself. He knew the exact reason why it was him. He didn't think she could bear it if anyone but him told her. He needed to be strong for her. How was he going to be strong for her? Finally with his good hand he knocked on the door.

"Yes?" He heard her call out. He took a deep breath and then slowly opened the door.

It had been later then what he had realized and she must have been getting ready to turn in for the night. Her hair was down and she wore a modest dressing gown. He frowned, he knew that she hadn't been sleeping well and he was going to ruin any chance of sleep she would get tonight. When she saw him standing there, she knew almost instantly that something was wrong. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What happened?" Was all she asked. There were so many possibilities of something going wrong somewhere that she simply didn't know who or what to ask about. All the words Theon wanted to say seemed to have been caught in his throat. He felt like a fool, standing there in her doorway, his mouth open hopelessly as no words would come. "Theon," She snapped his name, panic starting to tinge her thoughts.

Finally the words croaked out of his mouth, "your Father…"

It was all he got out, all he seemed to be able to say, but she knew exactly what he was saying. Her body went completely rigid, as if it would hurt her to move. "No," was her simple refusal to believe what he was saying.

"Arya…" He stepped further into her room, wanting to go her. He still couldn't think of what to say, so instead he reached out to her with his good hand, taking her arm intending to pull her into his arms in a comforting embrace. But before he could she pulled away from him.

"No," she said a bit more emphatically. "I don't believe you."

He pushed back the brief flash of hurt that he felt at her accusation, that he would lie to her. He knew that she was hurting and denial was her only protection from it. "Arya," he said again, this time getting a firmer grip on her arm. "I wouldn't lie about something like this."

Arya looked up at him, he saw the unshed tears swimming in her eyes and he knew that she knew her father was gone, she just wasn't ready to accept it. "I know you wouldn't, but the information you got must be wrong. He can't be…" She couldn't say the word, so she just let it hang in the air unsaid. Her eyes seemed to be pleading with him to tell her that it was all a mistake.

His heart broke all over again, he wished he could give her what she wanted, but that wasn't within his power. So he did the only thing he could do, he gathered her into his arms and held on to her tightly. Once she buried her face into his chest, he felt her body shudder into sobs. It was the first time he had actually seen her cry in years. He knew there was nothing he could say to make it better, so he stayed quiet, just letting her grieve. He didn't know how long they stayed that way, it was probably minutes, but it felt like hours. He hated feeling this helpless.

Finally, her sobs seemed to still and she lifted her head to look at him. She looked exhausted and her cheeks were tear stained, but there was determination in her eyes and Theon's heart dropped. He knew what was coming before she even spoke the words. "We have to go." She said simply and pushed herself out of his embrace. For a moment she looked around the room as if trying to figure out what she was going to do next. Her gaze settled on where she kept Needle, and she started to move towards it.

Theon quickly grabbed hold of her arm again. "Go where, exactly?" He practically growled at her.

She tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held on tight. "You promised me that if things got worse, you would go with me." Her tone was accusing, like she knew he was going to protest against them going anywhere right now.

"I also told you Robb was going to act if the situation escalated." Theon countered. "What King Jeffrey did to your father, Robb is going to counter. Do you know what that means?"

"War." Arya said defiantly. "And what does that mean for Sansa? They have her, and Robb has no way of getting her back! If Robb does anything the Crown doesn't like, they can take it out on her."

Theon had known that this would push Arya to want to act. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to act with her. But she wasn't being smart right now. "Do you know what lies between you and King's Landing right now? Do you understand how Westeros is going to be, over the next few months, or years even?"

"I don't care." She answered before she even had a chance to think about it.

"Well, you should." He snapped. "Most of the men who keep the order of their lands are going to be called to fight. The King's Road will be dangerous, bandits will take advantage, anyone who travels will be at risk. Especially if there are only one or two people are traveling. It will be worse for women. Not to mention the Lannister army stands between you and Sansa. How will you sneak through that? We still don't know where Stannis or Renly stand in all of this mess. That could be two more armies that stand in your way. Trust that Robb can can get her back."

"Like he's gotten everything else right?" Arya asked, anger coloring her words. "He made that damn deal with the Frey's and it has done nothing to help. We have no leverage to get Sansa back, does he have enough men to deal with that Lannister army you mentioned?"

"He's already dealt them a blow." Theon said, hoping that would appease her concerns about her brother being able to handle the Lannisters. "He has Jaime Lannister hostage. So, you see, there is a very good reason for Jeffrey to keep your sister safe."

That seemed to give her some pause, she had wanted to ask about how her brother had managed to catch the Kingslayer. But, her sister was her first worry at the moment, she still wasn't ready to give up. "But she's alone Theon! Do you know what my father always said? 'When winter comes, the lone wolf dies, but a pack survives.'" She seemed desperate now, to make him see her way. She grasped on to his shirt, pleading with him. "Winter is coming, Theon. And my sister, she is alone. What if my brother cannot get to her in time."

"And what if he loses you too, because you set off on some impossible task." He asked quietly, he lifted his hand to brush a stray strand of hair from her eyes. He looked at her, willing her to see reason, to think about what might happen. "What would that do to your mother? Think of what she has lost, it would hurt her so much to lose another person she loved. And what if the Lannisters found you? You would give them another hostage?" He could tell that she wanted to say something, to fight his words, but he could tell from the way that she looked at him, that he was starting to make sense to her. So he went on, not letting her talk. "I know how you feel. Your father, he raised me. I want to fight them too. I want to make them pay. But I promised your brother I would keep you and Bran and Rickon safe. Help me do that. Please." It was his turn to plead.

She kept their gazes locked, she could see the fear in his eyes. She realized he was scared for her and that tugged at her heart. She knew he felt the same grief that she did, maybe not as intense as she felt it, but she knew that her Father had meant something to him. But here he was, taking care of her, ignoring his own grief for the time being. It seemed to remind her that she was very dear to him. She tried to think what she would do if he decided to try and take on King's Landing all by himself. She shuddered at the thought of what might happen to him. What could happen to him, because he would go with her if she went. Finally, "I'll stay put for now." She whispered her promise. She could keep him safe too.

He felt his body ease of a tension he didn't know it had been holding. At least some of his worry was taken away from him. He pulled her into another embrace, and he closed his eyes as he inhaled the scent of her hair. "Thank you," was his own whispered reply. He could feel Arya nod her head as if to say you're welcome.

After a few moments of silence she turned to look at the bed that had been unused since that morning, when she had awoken from the nightmare that was now coming true. "I knew this was coming." She could feel the tears starting to well in her eyes again. This time she fought to keep them back.

"The dream." Theon said quietly.

Arya nodded her head again. "What if I dream again?" She looked up at him, her eyes teary, but also filled with a determined defiance. "I don't want to dream again."

"It could have been a coincidence," the words sounded ridiculous even to him, but he had no explanations for her and neither did Luwin. Whatever was going on with Arya, Bran, and Rickon, it was beyond the comprehension of even the Maester. She didn't even bother to answer him. Instead he just went on, "maybe you won't dream." He said helplessly.

"Maybe." She said.

"Arya, your dream didn't make this happen." He said, noticing how fatigued she looked, the lack of sleep and the sobbing had taken a toll on her. She needed to rest.

"I know, but I still don't want to dream." Arya said.

"I could go get something from Maester Luwin," Theon said, "to help you sleep. You need your rest."

Arya shook her head at the offer. "I'm not sure I can sleep. I'm not sure I want to sleep."

"Then just lie down and rest then." Theon suggested.

She glanced up at him hopefully, "will you stay with me?"

He blinked down at her in surprise and found himself speechless. He was certain the request was innocent, but she would have to know how that would look to everyone else. "Arya, I don't think that would be a good idea."

Arya just shook her head. "I don't care how it will look. You and I both know that nothing can happen. But I need you Theon, I cannot be alone tonight and I don't want to be around anyone else. Who knows, maybe you can keep the dreams away. Please?"

There were about a million reasons why he shouldn't stay with her, couldn't stay with her. And not one of them mattered when she had said that she needed him. Her father had had just been killed. He was feeling that loss too. The truth was he didn't want to be alone either, this night was going to be long and he needed her just as much as she needed him. She must have seen in his eyes that he would consent to the arrangement, she reached out and grabbed his injured hand without realizing it. He hissed in pain as she came into contact with his cuts.

She immediately took her hand away from his and looked down at his. She frowned and then looked up at him. "What happened?"

"I got angry and punched a wall." He shrugged it off as if it was nothing.

"Does it hurt?" She knew that that anger had been because of the loss of her father.

"The reason I'm angry hurts more." He said simply.

She nodded her head stiffly, she understood him perfectly. "Did it help? Hitting the wall I mean."

"No." He answered her honestly. "I don't think anything will." He knew that for whatever he was feeling, she was feeling it ten times worse. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead, knowing it was a small comfort to her. "You need to rest, you're going to need all your strength over the next few days."

He got her settled in, went about extinguishing the candles so that the only light came from the fireplace, and then moved to sit down on an uncomfortable chair that she used whenever she used her writing desk. Before he could though she reached out and grabbed his arm. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked quietly. "You need to gather your strength too, and you're not going to do that by sitting in that chair. There's plenty of room on the bed." She was matter of fact, and her tone implied that it was no use fighting about it.

"Again, that would not be wise." Theon tried.

"And I'll say again, that I don't care. Besides, you told my brother that you would keep me safe, and I don't think I'll feel safe tonight unless I'm in your arms. You'll be fully clothed, I'll be fully clothed. Nothing can happen. Please, just humor me." She said.

"I don't think this is what Robb had in mind." He muttered helplessly. But the gave in to her, he could deny her nothing. He slid into the bed next to her. She turned so that her back was to him. He moved closer to her and slid his arm around her tentatively. She was warm, and she was right, it felt safer being near each other, so he pulled her closer to him and held on to her like she was his anchor.

"Theon?" she whispered quietly.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"Good night."

"Good, night Arya."


	13. Chapter 13

Theon knew that in the days following the news of Lord Eddard Stark's death, he and Arya were playing a dangerous game with each other. The proof was in the fact that every night for the past two weeks, he would sneak into her room to sleep every night, and then sneak out every morning so no one would find them out. They weren't doing anything wrong, just sleeping. Despite the fact the temptation was there.

Gods, was there temptation. Sleeping next to the girl he loved, holding her in his arms, having denied himself the pleasure of a woman for months and not being able to to anything about it, was pure torture. And yet he did it every damn night…for her. She couldn't sleep without him, and he could hold her when the grief became too much for her to bear. He was the only one she would let see her in those rare moments when her feelings were so raw she couldn't hide them. It seemed his presence could calm her down enough and she would be able to drift off.

He supposed Arya kept him calm too. At least she occupied his mind enough that he couldn't focus too much on the fact that Robb was away, fighting a war to avenge his father, and Theon sat in the relative safety of Winterfell. Being with her kept him from feeling guilty that he was doing nothing to help avenge the man who had raised him. With her he didn't feel like a cowerd. At least when he was with her, she reminded him of why he had stayed.

Those were the reasons he kept coming back night after night. He knew they ran the risk of getting caught. He knew what it would look like to anyone who might catch them. No matter how convincing they were in their explanations, no matter how innocent their nights were, the rumors would make it seem dirty. And people would talk. He would be painted as the bad guy who took advantage of a grieving daughter. She would be disgraced. It could wreck the Stark's agreement with the Frey's, it could ruin everything. All over a misunderstanding, and still he did it, and she allowed him.

He knew that it had to stop. These were the thoughts that had come to his mind early in the morning. He knew he had to get up, to leave before a servant girl came in to help Arya get ready for the day. This morning he resolved that last night would be the last, so he hesitated to get up. He watched her for a few moments, she seemed peaceful this morning. He didn't think she had had any dreams during the night. He was grateful for that, maybe the dreams had stopped for now. He moved his hand and let his finger trace her cheek gently, feeling a need to touch her. Lately he had been doing that whenever he had the chance. He knew his time with her was limited.

He hadn't meant to wake her, but she stirred slightly and opened her eyes. She gave him a small, smile. It seemed genuine, which made him return the smile. It had been awhile since he had seen her smile. "You're still here," she said groggily. He was usually gone before she woke.

He nodded his head. "I should go soon though. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. You seemed peaceful." He let his hand rest on her cheek lightly.

He was about to pull away when she grasped his wrist in her hand and turned her head to kiss his palm, before letting him go. "It's okay. I slept well." She raised herself to a sitting position, keeping well herself covered. The fire had gone low and the room was chilled. "Probably because you were here." Her voice was quiet, like she didn't want to admit the weakness in needing him by her side. "So, thank you for that."

Theon sat up also, only he didn't have the luxury of staying in the bed, he shifted out from under the covers. He turned so that his back was to her and let his feet drop to the cold floor. He shivered a little he fumbled to return his boots to his feet. "You're welcome." He paused a moment, wondering how he would bring the subject up with her. "I probably should stay in my own room tonight." He didn't turn to look at her, because he knew if she had a mind to, she could probably talk him into coming back.

For her part Arya wouldn't look at him either. She knew he was right, what the stakes were. That didn't mean she had to like it. "You're probably right." She was reluctant in her words. She feared what the night would bring her if she was alone. During the day she could surround herself with people, keep herself busy training with Syrio or spending time with her brothers, trying to keep them distracted. But nights were different, nights made her mind wander. She would have time to think about her father, Robb, Sansa, and her mother, and if Theon didn't come she would have to face it alone. But she also knew she was becoming dependent on him, and that wouldn't be wise. He wasn't going to be there for her for forever.

"You'll be okay?" He asked.

She almost scoffed at him, like she was annoyed with him for thinking she couldn't handle being alone in the dark. She stopped herself at the last second, thinking maybe that would seem like too normal a thing to do. Right now things shouldn't be normal, her father was dead. Nothing would ever be normal again. Her voice was subdued, "I'll be fine."

The dullness to her voice got to him. Gods he was so weak, he was about to give in and say he'd come back that night. He craned his neck so he could look back at her. She looked so sad. "Because if you need me, I'll-"

"No." She said quickly. She was forcing a determination that she didn't feel. "You're right. We've gotten away with this for now, but it cannot last forever. If anyone found out, there'd be problems. And we have to learn how to get along without each other." Her words left a bitter tasted in her mouth, but she knew it was for the best.

He nodded his head, at least one of them had the good sense to cut themselves off. He stood up slowly, stretching a bit as he did. He then walked around to her side of the bed and rested his hand on her shoulder. He gave it a slight squeeze. He wanted to let her know that just because they had decided this, that things wouldn't go back to how it had been two weeks ago when they were afraid to even touch each other. She looked up at him, gave him a small, but sad smile to let him know that she had understood him.

"I'll see you at breakfast." He said. "Maybe Maester Luwin will have some news from Robb."

She nodded her head and then watched as he left her room. With a sigh she left the protection from of her warm bed and started to ready herself for another long day.

—

Bran, Rickon, Arya, and Theon all sat together at the morning meal, they had all their meals together now. They hadn't always done that before, because Arya, Theon, and Bran all had duties that they had to attend to while Rickon usually ate with some of the servants. But now their mutual grief over the loss of Eddard Stark seemed to draw them together at meal times. They seemed to find comfort in being around each other. However this morning they all seemed to be on edge. It had been awhile since they had heard any news from Robb or Catelyn.

Theon had warned them that communication with the rest of Westoros would probably be unreliable. They didn't know the exact location of where Robb would be, or if was he was fighting. And it wasn't unheard of for ravens to disappear or be intercepted. Especially in times of war. He had meant his explanations to be reassuring, but realized they only served to make them more worried.

They all looked anxiously up when the Maester walked into the hall, but he shook his head to let them know that no ravens had come during the night. He tried to tell them to be patient, and he supposed they listened because, when they were done eating they all left to attend to their normal daily activities. At least they tried to carry on as normal. The old man was worried about the family he had lived to serve. He hoped that Robb would send them something soon, so their worries could be eased. He hoped whatever Robb would send them would be good news.

That afternoon the Maester's wish came true, news of Robb came and for once Luwin would not be the bearer of bad news. He waited until they were all seated for their supper and he told the servants to set a place for him as well. The children weren't surprised when Luwin opted to eat with them, he did that from time to time and he was always welcome.

"Did a raven come?" Bran asked, his voice didn't exactly sound hopeful. It almost seemed he was certain that one hadn't and he didn't want to set himself up for disappointment.

"It fact one did come." The Maester answered.

Arya, Theon, and Bran all stopped eating, surprise evident on their faces. Rickon continued on with his meal, not really paying attention to what the others were talking about. He was more interested in the food then any talk of a war that was happening so far away from him.

"Well," Arya anxiously asked. "What did it say?"

"Your mother is fine. Your brother seems to be doing quite well on the battlefield." Luwin said after he had carefully finished a bite of his food. "He seems to be giving the Lannister army a difficult time of it, at least in the first few skirmishes he has seen."

Both Arya and Theon felt a bit of a smile tug at their features. At least something was going right for the Starks. Bran however looked thoughtful as he watched the Maester. "There's more isn't there."

Luwin just nodded his head. He wasn't sure how the Stark children would feel about what else he had to say. "The Northern Lords seem quite happy with how your brother is handling himself. It would seem that they have named him King of the North. They wish to break from the Iron Throne, this is how they want to answer the execution of your father."

For a moment, everyone was quiet, even Rickon had stopped eating, sensing that something big had just been announced. Theon looked at the Maester, his mouth open in shock. "Can they do that?"

Luwin simply nodded his head again. "The realm was already on the brink of civil war. The North has just made the declaration more formal."

"I'm sure King Jeffrey will take the news well." Arya said sardonically.

"Yes, but the King has other problems beside just your brother to worry about at the moment." Luwin said flatly. This news wasn't quite as good as the news of what he had just shared about Robb. "It seems both Renly and Stannis are laying claim to the Throne."

"Both of them? Why?" Theon asked, he thought he understood how lines of successions worked. The oldest male heir should gain the throne. That meant Jeffrey had the only claim.

"Well, it seems there is some," Luwin furrowed his brow at this as he looked to Bran and Rickon, some of what had been in Robb's letter seemed a bit too mature for the youngest Starks to hear. "There seems to be some question as to Joffrey's parentage." Both Arya 'sand Theon's eyes widened at this. That certainly was a shock, the Queen had been bedding another man? The Maester went on. "If that is the case, then Stannis has a better claim, but it seems Renly has the bigger army and better support. The Tyrell's have thrown their strength to Renly."

"Everyone has gone mad." Arya murmured. "These wars could last years." She didn't particularly care which person sat on which throne. She only cared about her family and where they stood in the grand scheme of things. Let the Baratheon's fight amongst each other. She only wanted justice for her father. "Will Robb ally with either Stannis or Renly?" If the Starks could forge an alliance with either of them, it could end the war that much sooner.

"I would imagine he will extend an offer of peace to the both of them." Luwin said, "but it remains to be seen if either will accept any of his terms. After such a show of support of his men, Robb will want to keep his claim on the North. Stannis, I doubt will be willing to concede this to him. Renly, I don't know much about the man, and if he has Tyrells whispering in his ear, I cannot say in which way he would go."

Arya frowned, "so it's more waiting, then. We have to wait and see if either of them will come to our aid?" Her voice showed her disgust and restlessness at being forced to sit back and do nothing.

"I'm afraid so." Luwin said.

Theon nudged her arm with his elbow so he could get her attention. Once he had it, he gave her a small reassuring smile. She just answered him with a scowl. "Hey," he whispered to her, so they wouldn't be overheard by Luwin or her brothers. Bran it seemed still had a few questions on how everything had worked out. "You do realize that you have a new title to hate now, I mean besides lady."

Arya rolled her eyes in exasperation, she really had been showing signs of going back to her normal self. "What are you talking about?" She snapped at him in a whispered hush.

"Your brother is a King. What do you think that makes you, Princess?" He asked watching her expectantly, and just like he suspected, her face changed from mild annoyance to dawning horror.

"I swear to the Old Gods, the New Gods, to any gods there are that if you call me that I'll castrated you." She hissed at him. She brandished the two pronged eating utensil she had been using at him as if to prove a point.

It appeared that she was not impressed by her new station, not as much as he was, and he let out a small snort of amusement. It still didn't feel right for him to laugh out loud, but he grinned when he saw her scowl deepen even more. He quickly averted his eyes back to his supper plate, so he wouldn't make her even more annoyed with him.

—

The next few weeks seemed to move by in at a snail's pace, for Arya, but the uneventful days brought with them some semblance of normalcy. There was still a hole in her heart that the death of her father had given her, and she was sure it would never heal completely. She knew that there would always be a scar there, but it didn't feel so raw anymore.

Admittedly, it was because Theon had been there to help her through the worst of times. He had kept his promise not to sleep in her room anymore. But he still came to see her nightly, just to make sure she was okay. There had been nights where the grief threatened to overwhelm her, he he would stay with her while she cried, and held her until she was asleep. Then he would slip out of her room before he had a chance to fall asleep too. They lied to themselves, by reassuring themselves that it was okay because he didn't spend the night with her. But with the passage of time, those nights were becoming fewer and fewer. And the dreams stayed away. Perhaps she didn't need Theon as much as she thought she did. She would never tell him that though, because he might start to keep his distance again, and she wasn't ready for that yet.

News coming from the South was sparse, and wasn't always reliable. They had heard rumors of Renly Baratheon dying. Some of the rumors said he had been killed by a woman who had served on his King's Guard. Others said that a witness had seen a man made of shadow descend upon the King in his tent and kill him. None of them made sense, especially the ones that said that one of the witnesses to the murder had been Catelyn Stark who had then managed to escape with the woman who had been accused of Renly's murder. Apparently Arya's mother had been there, to try and forge an alliance between the North and Renly's army. The only thing that Arya knew was that if Renly was dead, there was one less possible ally for her brother.

Other then that piece of news, their lives in Winterfell moved on.

Then one day it all changed again. Arya was just coming into the hall after a long morning of training when she saw Theon with Maester Luwin. She stopped short, she could tell that Theon was angry, she could tell by the way he held himself. His jaw was clenched and his body rigid. The Maester, it seemed, was trying to calm him, but Theon was having none of it. Instead Theon just stormed away from Luwin, and when he came face to face with Arya, a deeper anger seemed to fill his eyes. She was about say his name to keep him from passing her by, she wanted to find out what was wrong, to see what she might have done to make him so angry. But his expression stopped her. She held her breath as he stalked passed her to find his solace in the outdoors.

Arya watched as he disappeared, then turned to Luwin and quickly made her way to where he stood. "What was that about?" She demanded.

Luwin sighed. "Balon Greyjoy has seized an opportunity. He has sent out raiding parties on the coast, he's in open rebellion against Robb. He's claiming himself King of the Iron Islands."

Arya muttered a curse under her breath. "He's rebelling, now? Even though Theon is still with us?"

"Apparently so." Luwin answered. "I imagine Theon feels like he's being pulled in two different directions."

"Of course he does," she practically snapped at him. Not because she was particularly annoyed with the Maester, but because she was worried about Theon. She could not even imagine what was going through his head. She wondered if he felt like he was being abandoned by his family. She wondered if he was going to leave them, and go to his father's aide. So many possibilities were running around in her head. She needed to find him. She needed to make sure he was okay. She gave the Maester one worried look and then without so much as a word she turned away from him and ran after the boy she loved. Nymeria who had followed her into the hall, followed after her.

The wolf seemed to know what, or rather who, was on her master's mind and quickly over took Arya's lead. Nymeria seemed to know exactly where she was going, and Arya followed her, trusting the wolf's instincts. She wasn't disappointed when Nymeria led her into the godswood, realizing that Theon had probably gone to the weir tree. It was a place that guaranteed solitude and she was sure that was what he wanted.

When she came upon the clearing, his back was to her. "You shouldn't have come here alone." He must have heard her come. "You're breaking your promise to me about wandering these woods by yourself." His voice was low and angry.

"I promised I wouldn't come here without you." Arya countered. "And here you are."

"I'm sure Maester Luwin told you," Theon spit out, "I'm the enemy. It's not safe to be alone with me." He finally turned to look at her, his expression hardened so she couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking.

"He told me your father had seized an opportunity." She gave him a pointed look, "he said nothing about you being an enemy."

"No?" He put on an expression of mock surprise and let out a cynical laugh. He took what he hoped to be a few menacing steps towards her. He was angry. Angry at his father, a man who seemed to be putting his own ambitions before his son, his only surviving son. A man who seemed to be making him choose between the people who had raised him, people who he knew cared about him even though he wasn't related to them by blood and his family, who's only bonds that connected them was blood and a family name. And gods help him, but there was a part of him that wanted so badly to turn his back on the Starks and the reason was the girl that now stood before him.

She held her ground as he neared her. "No." She glared up at him "If we were worried about you, don't you think there would be guards on you right now?"

He stood right in front of her now, his gaze glowering down at her. "That's the problem with you Starks, you expect everyone to have the same honor your father had."

He was hurting, she knew that his words were said in anger, but that didn't mean she had to like them. "What is that supposed to mean exactly?"

Again there was that sharp, angry laugh from him. He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her close, their bodies pressed together. "Don't you get it Little Wolf, you're here, alone with me. No one to watch over you. I could steal away with you, just like we discussed before, take what is mine, pay the Iron Price. Take you to the Iron Islands, and not have to worry about the consequences because my father has already started a war."

"You couldn't force me to go any where with you." She held his gaze defiantly. She didn't particularly like being treated like a possession, but she knew this wasn't really him talking. He was having some issues and merely taking it out on her. She would just have to help him through it. "You know I would fight you tooth and nail, not to mention Nymeria wouldn't let you go anywhere with me if I didn't want to go with."

"You'd want to go with me." He said knowing for certain that what he spoke was the truth.

"Oh, you think so?" She spat back at him.

The only response he felt he could give her was to lean down and kiss her. He knew it would remind her of what they felt for each other. This kiss wasn't the gentle kiss that had been like their first kiss. No, his lips had pressed hard against hers, it was full of anger and passion. And she kissed him back with the same longing and frustration that he felt. It didn't last long, but when they pulled away they still had to gasp for air. He had a self satisfied smile upon his lips, even though his eyes still showed an anger and resentment that Arya knew wasn't directed at her.

She knew the instant that his lips touched hers that she would go with him, if he asked. She hated herself for that weakness. That's why she was relieved to know that she didn't really believe that he would ask, nor would he take her against her will. "I would go with you." She admitted out loud to him, but then softened her tone, her gaze pleading with him to lighten his anger. "But you wouldn't ask, I'm not the only Stark you care about."

What she said must have resonated with him, and he closed his eyes, unable to look into hers any longer. "I know," He said helplessly, and he dropped his hands from her, it almost seemed like an act of surrender. "And still I feel I have to run, even if it's without you."

"Why?" Arya challenged him. "Do you feel particularly loyal to him? It seems to me Balon Greyjoy doesn't really care about your well being since he thought it would be okay to send out raiding parties on our coast with you still as our 'hostage.' You don't owe them anything."

"You think it's that simple Arya?" Theon asked. "You know my father has sent ships out, but there's a pattern. He's going up the coat to Deepwood Motte. It's a good a place as any to get to Winterfell. My father isn't just going to let me stay under Robb's thumb. He'll take back what's his. And that puts you and your brothers and Winterfell in danger."

"And you think by leaving us you'll keep us safe?" She argued.

"If I went to him, he would leave Winterfell alone. He'd have no reason to come here." Theon explained. Then he sighed "And he's my father. How would it look if I choose my 'captors' over him." He sounded miserable.

"You don't want to go."

"Of course I don't." He looked at her. "Everything I know is here. And I'll be Robb's enemy, I'll be forced to fight against him. I'll be your enemy."

"Then it's simple." Arya said. "Don't go. You don't want to… don't."

"I belong in Pyke." Theon answered seriously. "I'm heir to Pyke. Your father raised me to be a man of honor. Wouldn't that mean I should honor my father, my blood."

"Does your father deserve that honor?" Arya spit out. "Doesn't he owe allegiance to House Stark, is he not betraying us by this rebellion? If you stayed and fought for Robb, for your rightful King, a man you named as brother, wouldn't that make you honorable too?"

Theon tried to offer her a smile, but it was small and barely reached his eyes. "You make a good point, my lady." He sighed heavily. "But that doesn't solve the problem of keeping my father from sending men to Winterfell to retrieve me. It doesn't keep you or your brothers safe."

"You think Robb would make us fend for ourselves?" Arya seemed amused at the thought. "Winterfell can withstand a siege, if it even came to that. We're not helpless, we have enough men here to hold out until help came. Not all the fighting men in the North have gone with Robb. We still have allies here that can come to our aide. And you know if you stay here, your father cannot risk anything more then raids on the coastal villages."

"Or, he could consider me traitor and step up aggression." Theon said.

"Why do you keep on coming up with excuses to leave?" She asked in frustration.

He answered the question, with a question of his own. "Why are you trying so hard to get me to stay?"

"You mean beside the obvious selfish reason that I want to keep you near me for as long as I can?" She was clearly getting annoyed by his persistence in wanting to leave.

"Yes," His words crossed his arms, and almost dared her to give him another reason. "Give me another reason to stay. Because the way I see it, it would be in both of our best interests if I was gone. Being around you Arya, it can be torture, knowing that no matter how we feel, you and I are never going to be together in the way we both want."

She flinched slightly, visibly shaken by what he had said. For a moment she didn't know how to answer him, When she did speak her voice was quiet, but firm. "Fine, you want another reason." She cast him a stubborn glance. "I have at least a dozen, but I'll give you one." She jabbed an accusing finger into his chest. "You are always so consumed with keeping me safe, not letting me go off on some impulsive task. Well, now it's my turn to save you. Fighting against us Theon…it would kill you. You go on and on about how you belong in Pyke. Fine, keep saying that. But you were raised by Eddard Stark, that practically makes you a Northener, even if you weren't born here! Don't forget that. Don't let Balon Greyjoy make you turn away from where your heart really is. And don't use me as an excuse to do it"

With that said, she had nothing left in her to say. She was done trying to convince him, it was ultimately his decision. She waited a few moments, letting her words hang thickly in the air. She could tell there was a war waging within him. When he said nothing, she simply turned away from him, ready to leave him alone with his thoughts. Before she could step away though, he grabbed her arm, forcing her to look back at him. There was a resigned expression playing upon his face. She was right, of course she was right. If he left, it would only be because he was trying to run away.

He said only two simple words. "I'll stay."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, first let me say thank you to all of you who have read this so far. Second I just want to explain that on the other site I've posted this on I did so only in the Game of Throne's section, so I used the television names for Theon's sister and Robb's wife (Yara Greyjoy rather than Asha Greyjoy, and in the next chapter Robb's wife will be Talisa rather than Jeyne Westerling) Just wanted to clear up any confusion there might be.

"You are of course welcome here, and I accept your father's formal pledge of allegiance to my brother on Robb's behalf." Bran said from his usual place upon the dais in which he received people. His face was a mask of worry as he talked to the two young people who stood before him. "But I should warn you that it might not be safe, raiders from the Iron Islands might be on their way. Perhaps you should head back to Greywater Watch."

"My father knew of the danger and sent us anyway." Said the young woman who had introduced herself as Meera Reed. "Besides it might not be any safer there than it is here."

Meera and Jojen Reed had shown up at Winterfell twenty minutes prior, and had insisted on gaining an audience with Bran, much to Theon's discomfort. It had been four days since they had heard of King Balon's rebellion, and he was on edge. He had started to prep Winterfell for a siege he knew was bound to come. He didn't like having the extra people, especially those of noble blood. Not to mention he wasn't certain about their loyalties. Theon had even gone so far as to suggest that they be turned away, but Maester Luwin insisted that Howland Reed, the children's father, was a close friend to the Starks. That they should be considered amongst the Starks staunchest supporters. So Bran had decided to see them.

"I don't believe Greywater has ever been taken." Theon put in, probably a little more harshly then he intended. "It would seem a keep that is difficult to get to would be the safest place to be."

"It hasn't ever been taken." Meera said, choosing to ignore his tone. "But my father was given the task to defend the Neck, and if any army has any intention of trying to get past him to invade the North, the bogs and marshes I call home might see their fair share of blood shed."

"And we are here for other reasons." Meera's brother Jojen had finally added a serious voice to the conversation. His strange green eyes, looked pointedly at Bran.

"What other reasons, exactly?" Arya asked. She had been standing quietly behind Bran, watching the exchange with interest. She wasn't as suspicious as Theon had been. She had known of the Reeds from her father's stories and didn't question whose side they would be on. But the boy, Jojen, he made her uneasy. His eyes, when they looked at someone, they seemed like they could look right through you, like they knew all of your secrets.

"I would like to speak with Bran alone," He turned his attention to Arya, but he didn't answer her question. "If that is alright. You can see I mean him no harm." It was true, he didn't exactly look threatening, he almost looked frail and he carried no weapons.

Arya cast Theon a glance as if asking his opinion on if they should allow the request. Theon shrugged his shoulders, he didn't like it, but he didn't have any real reason not to allow it to happen. Arya looked back to the Reeds. "Fine, I guess it would be alright for you to speak with him."

Luwin, who had also been witnessing the audience offered to show Lady Meera to the rooms her and her brother would have while they stayed at Winterfell. Arya moved away from Bran, tugging on Theon's sleeve to get his attention so that he would come with her. She could tell he was worried about leaving Bran alone with a stranger. He had become over protective of them all in the past few days. It seemed like he was trying to compensate for what his father had done.

"I doubt he's going to hurt him." Arya whispered in Theon's ear when it appeared Theon wouldn't leave. "They're in Winterfell, and the Reed boy looks like a strong breeze would blow him over. Bran is safe."

Theon frowned at her, but he allowed her to pull them out of the hall. "I don't like them here." He said once they were outside and out of earshot of Winterfell's new guests

Arya gave him a sideways glance. "You don't say." She deadpanned. "They aren't here to harm us. My father always spoke very well of the Reeds. We have nothing to worry about."

"It's not just that." Theon sighed heavily. "It's more people we have to worry about if my father's men come. More mouths to feed if we fall under siege. More people to protect."

"Two more people won't put a serious strain on us." Arya said. "Who knows, maybe that girl can help us if it comes down to a fight. They came here on their own Theon, no guards, no men. Meera Reed carries a spear, she must know how to use it. And the wolves don't seem to have any reservations. Summer even went right up to Jojen and allowed the boy to pet him. So, stop worrying."

"I'll try." He gave her a small smile to show that he really would try. "Perhaps you're right, maybe we could use them to our advantage. We'll have to see what they have to offer."

—

Things remained tense around the Keep. Mostly it was because of the waiting. They didn't even know if an attack would come, but everyday they waited with baited breath to see if this would be the day Theon's people would come to 'rescue' him. And every day would pass without incident. News from the coast was still sparse, which wasn't surprising, but they heard even less about what was going on in the South. They did here some news from the Northern Coastal regions. The raids were still happening, which made the worries at Winterfell seem like they were justified. But so far no Ironborn had been spotted inland. There was also some guilt that they could do nothing to help those coastal towns without compromising their own defenses. They just didn't have the men.

Over the next few days, both Theon and Arya got to see what exactly what Meera Reed had to offer. The two Reeds seemed to fit into life at Winterfell pretty well. Jojen spent most of his time talking with Bran, they could barely be separated. Arya often wondered what the two of them talked about, but every time she tried to talk to Bran about it, he said she wouldn't understand. Arya seemed to get on well with Meera, the two of them had much in common. They found themselves in the practice yard together a lot, preparing for whatever might come their way at Winterfell.

They often drew a small crowd whenever Arya and Meera sparred against each other. There was little to do for some of the men-at-arms to do to keep their minds off the future. Watching the two girls spar was good entertainment. They were both graceful and light on their feet. It truly was like watching a dance, even though Meera had admitted to no formal training. Syrio was also impressed, the girl had started showing up at Arya's dancing lessons.

After one of these lessons, Arya had noticed Theon watching the both of them along with the others who had come to watch. She left Meera to talk with Syrio while she made her way over to Theon, a small smile was playing upon her lips. He didn't seem to pay her any attention as she took her place next to him, he was watching Meera continue her practice.

"You're impressed with her." She said knowingly.

"Of course." He said in an off hand sort of way, his eyes still watching the Reed girl as Syrio gave her some tips on how to improve. "She's skilled, she'll be useful. It would be difficult not to be impressed."

"Good." Arya said quietly, with a small bit of hurt in her voice. It seemed odd for his attention to be on another girl, when she was so used to it being on her.

He heard the change in her tone and looked over at her, an amused smile touched his lips. "You're jealous."

Her brow furrowed a little and she let out a small scoff. "No, I'm not." But she knew the truth, she was. She also knew that he of all people would be able to see through her lie. She couldn't help it, Meera was a pretty girl, who as far as they knew was an available option for Theon. And she wasn't completely useless like most noble ladies.

Now his attention was completely on her, he turned so that he could no longer watch Meera. He wanted to make sure that she knew his only true concern was her. If he was being honest with himself he kind of enjoyed the fact that she was jealous and for the first time in days he let himself chuckle out loud. "Yes, you are. I'm kind of flattered by it, really."

Arya narrowed her eyes at his teasing. "Shut up." She snapped at him, harsher then she intended. She didn't like feeling jealous, and she definitely didn't like him making fun of her for being jealous. For a moment neither of them said anything, he was wearing a self satisfied grin and she just glared up at him. Finally she just turned and started to stalk out of the yard.

With another little chuckle, he followed her. When he caught up to her, she didn't say anything but she didn't try to get away from him. At least that was something. "You know, it's okay to feel jealous, even if you don't have any reason to be. I'm impressed with her because she can help protect Winterfell, Arya. And honestly, I'm going to take any help I can get, especially if it's a way to keep you and your brothers safe."

"I don't like being jealous." She all but pouted as she said those words. "She's pretty too."

"Aye," Theon admitted after he let the thought mull within his mind. "She's got an attractiveness to her, I guess." He chuckled again when he saw her expression at his answer, but grabbed her hand to stop her from walking further. "But, she's not you Little Wolf, you can't think me that fickle, that I'd turn my attention to any new face."

She let out a small sigh and gently squeezed his hand. "Of course I don't think that. But she's not going to have to marry a Frey boy." She sounded a little deflated. "Maybe you should start paying attention to other girls. And Meera, she's better then most of those other noble women someone is going to try and make you marry someday."

For a brief moment he wanted to frown, realizing that she was bringing up topics that neither of them really wanted to talk about, unless they had to. Instead he choose not to dwell on the fact that what she said was right, but to tease her instead. "So, what you're saying is that you're jealous of some girl I may or may not marry in the future." When he saw the annoyed look she gave him, he did frown. "It's okay if you are, I'm jealous of Elmar Frey, and I've never even met him."

She smiled a little at his admission, at least she wasn't alone in being jealous. "We both must be insane."

"You're probably right," He said with a small shrug.

Before they could continue on with their conversation one of Winterfell's guards quickly made his way up to Theon. "M'lord." He sounded a little out of breath.

Theon looked concerned as he had recognized the man as one who was supposed to be on guard duty. He suddenly became all business. "What is it?" Theon's tone put Arya on edge too, she feared that something might be wrong.

"Riders and men marching, m'lord." The guard answered quickly. "They were seen coming from the west."

Theon cursed and then started for the western most of Winterfell's watchtowers. He knew Arya awould follow him. As he walked away he looked the guard, "gather the men, start defensive preparations. Make sure Maester Luwin knows what's happening."

Theon watched as the guard left to carry out his orders, then stepped up his pace, Arya kept up easily. It took them only minutes to reach the tower then a few more to climb it. Theon wondered how close the men who were on their way had gotten in the time it took for them to get to the top of the tower. He looked out to the west, and he could see the men the guard had been talking about easily enough. Arya took the spot next to him also peered out towards riders.

"Are we ready for this?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know." He answered her honestly. "I guess we're about to find out."

For a moment Theon said nothing, his eyes solely on the coming storm from the west. His stomach seemed to drop. How in the seven hells was he supposed to get them through this? He had no doubt that those men were from the Iron Islands. And once more he wondered if he had he made the right choice in staying at Winterfell. But then something caught his eye as the riders came closer. The banners those men carried, they didn't have the Greyjoy kraken. In fact he didn't recognize the sigil on those banners as any from the Iron Islands.

"Those banners aren't any of the banners from the Iron Islands." Theon said quietly.

Arya took a closer look. It was true, she could see that now that they were closer. "No, you're right." She pointed now towards the flags that became more recognizable as they came closer. "That's the Flayed Man, isn't it. Those are Bolton men." Her voice was tinged with both excitement and relief. She turned to look at him. "I told you Robb wouldn't leave us to fend for ourselves."

—

The Bolton men came to a stop at what seemed to be a fair distance away from the keep. Apparently they knew that those who were at Winterfell would be weary of visitors, even if they appeared to be friends. They sent a lone messenger ahead of them. Theon himself went to the gates to receive him. Once the man was safely within the keep's walls, Theon took the letter he carried. He broke the wax seal that bore the Starks sigil, with that Theon knew these men had indeed been sent by Robb. He read the note quickly, just to make sure, then handed the letter to Luwin who had also come to greet the messenger.

"Ramsay Snow leads them." Theon murmured to Luwin as he read.

"Aye," Luwin said, concern in his voice, "I've heard stories of Roose Bolton's bastard boy. None of them good. He's supposedly very cruel."

"And yet, he's here at Robb's behest." Theon motioned to the scrap of parchment that Maester held in his hand. "Perhaps they're just rumors."

"Perhaps." Luwin said quietly. "But I don't like that his men outnumber those here at Winterfell. Be on your guard around him."

Theon could tell that something was troubling the old man, but he just nodded his head. "I will. I'll tell Arya, Bran, Rickon and the Reeds as well."

"The Winterfell guard as well." Luwin added. "Just tell everyone to remain civil. We don't want to insult anyone either."

Theon paused for a moment. "Robb wouldn't send someone he thought to be dangerous to protect his siblings and his home."

"You are right," Luwin admitted. "He wouldn't. But he might have asked someone else to look after the protection of Winterfell in his name. It was his seal on the letter but not his handwriting. He could have had Lord Bolton make arrangements."

"And Lord Bolton could use that as an opportunity," Theon said with a sigh.

"Ramsay Snow is the only living son of Roose Bolton. If Ramsay could prove his usefulness to the King in the North, that would reflect well on Lord Bolton himself and Robb would have the power to legitimize Ramsay." Luwin said.

"Well, let us hope that Roose Bolton has a tight leash on his bastard." Theon said. Then turned to leave. "I'll go prepare the Starks to receive their guest."

"I'll have Snow brought to the main hall when he's ready." Luwin looked to the gates, the Bolton men had just started to enter.

Theon just nodded his head and walked away. It wasn't hard to find the Stark children, they were where he expected them to be, in the main hall. He walked slowly to where they all stood and Bran sat. The wolves were calmly lying down at their feet. They all looked at him expectantly.

"So, it's safe then, they really are from Robb?" Arya asked.

"It would seem that way, or at least he had them sent here for our protection." Theon answered carefully.

"Then why aren't you happier about it?" Bran asked curiously.

"Maester Luwin seems to be concerned that the person who leads these men might have ulterior motives. We're not sure he can be completely trusted." He answered.

"Who did he send?" Arya asked with a small frown. She didn't like having to question the man her brother had sent to help them.

"Ramsay Snow." Theon stated.

"Bolton's Bastard." Arya said knowingly. Of course she would have heard the rumors that surrounded the man. Arya had a way of finding out things that normal girls wouldn't want to know. "He can't be that bad, if Robb agreed to it. Right?"

Theon shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "Just watch yourselves around him." He looked first at Arya, then to the rest of those assembled around her. "All of you."

They all looked to the door of the great hall that had just been opened and watched as Maseter Luwin led a group of men inside. All three wolves growled lowly, before Arya told them to hush. Their reaction to the men did nothing to ease Theon's mind. The last person to enter Theon noticed, was a woman who was being led in on a rope by one of the Bolton men. Ramsay Snow was easy to pick out, he had the same pale eyes as his father. The Maester stopped them when they stood before the young people. Ramsay took that moment to bow and his men followed suit. The one who had led the obvious prisoner forced the woman to bow down as well.

The Maester cleared his throat. "Allow me to present Ramsay Snow of the Dreadfort."

"My Princes." Ramsay said as he straightened up and looked directly Bran, then Rickon, it seemed he knew exactly who the Starks were. He waited for them to nod a greeting at him, then his gaze shifted to Arya. "My Princess."

Arya was unsettled by his stare, the same way she had been unsettled by Roose Bolton's all those weeks ago. Theon could sense her unease and took a protective step slightly in front of her so that he partially obstructed Ramsay's view. Theon would rather the man's attention stayed away from Arya, and eyes lingered far longer on her then Theon liked. Or at least that's how it seemed to Theon. He didn't even want Ramsay to look in her direction.

This small act seemed to amuse Ramsay Snow as his attention went from Arya to Theon. A polite smile played upon his lips, "and you must be Lord Theon Greyjoy. I've brought a guest that might interest you." He motioned for the man who had led the prisoner in to bring her forward. "You see, we were at Deepwood Motte before we came here, helping to protect against the raiders your father insisted on sending out. We suppressed the invaders and even managed to take a few prisoners." The prisoner now stood beside Ramsay Snow. "I do believe this is your sister."

For a moment the hall was completely still and silent. Theon just stared at the woman beside Snow. The bastard could be lying for all he knew. He hadn't seen his sister since they were both children. He thought there might have been some familiar features, but he couldn't be sure. He felt Arya place her hand on his arm, giving it a small squeeze to let him know that he wasn't alone. That seemed to wake him a bit, at least enough to say something. "Yara?"

The woman just looked up at him, her mouth twisted in disdainful frown. She gave a curt nod of her head. "Little brother."

After a few more tense moments of silence, Luwin cleared his throat. "Perhaps we could find some suitable accommodations for Lady Greyjoy." The suggestion was directed at Bran, as he was technically the acting Lord of Winterfell.

"Oh, right." Said Bran, he had been distracted by the family reunion that had just happened. He motioned to a serving girl who was nearby. "Go ready a guest room." As the serving girl left to do as she was bid he looked at Theon, hoping that what he said next was the right thing. "We should have some guards stationed at her door, she probably shouldn't have free reign of the keep."

Theon looked from his sister to Bran and nodded his head. "Aye, I'll post some guards." He looked back at his sister who just scowled at him. Clearly she saw him as a traitor, since he was helping to keep her prisoner. He gave no reaction, he just stared at her grimly.

"I'd be careful of this one, she can put up one hell of a fight." Ramsay spoke up. "If you'd like, I can offer some of my men to take up guard duty. They at least know what to expect of her."

Theon's eyes narrowed as they looked at the bastard. "It's okay, I think the guards of Winterfell can handle it."

"As you wish, my Lord." Ramsay said as if it were no matter to him. "Just know that we are here to offer any assistance that we can."

"Thank you," Bran put in before Theon could speak. "We welcome your aide and offer you our hospitality. I know you have traveled far and you probably wish to take your rest. I offer you and your men the use of Winterfell's barracks."

"Thank you," Ramsay bowed once more, "my Prince. With your leave I'll see to my men."

Bran gave his dismissal and Ramsay left with the men who had come in with him. He left Yara Greyjoy in the care of one of the Winterfell guards that had been standing near the doors. Theon nodded to the the guards as if to tell him to take her to her room in the guest wing. Luwin also followed Ramsay Bolton out the doors, in case the man needed any assistance.

Arya's hand was still on Theon's arm and she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "Are you okay?"

He turned to face her and he felt her hand drop from his arm. "I'm fine." He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way, but she looked unconvinced.

"Are you going to go talk to her?" She looked up at him, her eyes full of concern.

"I probably should." He said reluctantly.

"Do you want me to go with?"

"I'll be okay." He answered her, he could tell that she didn't believe him, and this time his small smile was a little more genuine. "I'll be fine. I'm not sure I want anyone to witness this family reunion. She didn't seem all that happy to see me."

"Okay." He could still hear the disapproval in her tone, but she didn't press him.

Theon looked at her carefully, "remember what I said about being careful around him." He nodded towards the door that Ramsay had just departed from. "In fact, try and stay away from him." He looked over to Bran and Rickon. "All of you, try and stay away from him. I don't trust him."

Arya nodded her head. "He seems polite enough, and he says all the right things, but when you look him in the eyes. I don't know. He doesn't seem genuine."

Bran also seemed to agree, "the wolves didn't like him either."

"Okay, then it's settled." Theon said with satisfaction. "You all will keep your distance. If for any reason one of you has to deal with him, take me with you. Or better yet, just let me deal with it." He gave each of them a pointed look, "alright?" They all nodded their heads in agreement. "Good, then I'm going to go see about welcoming my sister to Winterfell."

—

It was easy enough to find where they had put Yara. She had been given a modest guest room, that was small, but warm. It would be a damn sight more comfortable then the dungeons. It was a gilded cage to be sure, but it had to be for she was technically a lady of a noble house. They would treat her as such. When he reached the door, the two guards who had been down in the hall for her arrival nodded at him. He returned the nod and then knocked on the door. He waited a moment before the door was opened by the woman who seemed to be his sister and she looked furious.

"I didn't realize jailers knocked." Yara spat at him.

"I was being polite." He answered her. "And I'm not your jailor. You heard the Maester, you are to be treated as a guest."

"A guest who is in chains?" She was angry, and he supposed she had a right to be. But what did she expect, she had betrayed the Starks and she had been caught.

"You wear no chains that I can see." He motioned to her wrists, the guards must have cut off the ropes that had held before she had entered this room.

"But I am still in a cell." She glared at him as if it was all his fault that she was in this position.

"A comfortable one."

"I am your sister." She said as if he needed to be reminded of this.

"Which is probably why you are being treated with more respect then you deserve." He finally spat back at her.

"Should I thank you for this then?" She sneered as she motioned around the room. "Should I thank my dear brother for turning his back on his family, and allying himself with the Wolves?"

"Father was the one who decided to start a rebellion while I was being held hostage." Theon felt his temper starting to slip.

"And yet, Robb Stark has left you at Winterfell, all alone, you even seem to be in charge of the guard. It seems you had every opportunity to escape. But here you stand. Loyal as ever to your captors." Her glare was like an accusation.

"They never treated me as one." Theon's voice was quiet. "Lord Stark raised me, not as if I was his own son, he wouldn't disrespect our own father in that way. But he is the one who made me into the man I am today. I grew up with his sons, they are like brothers to me. I know that probably hurts to hear Yara, but it's true. I don't know you, the only bond we have is blood. And if you'll remember, the reason I was placed with the Starks was because of a rebellion our father attempted so many years ago."

"You are blaming your father for your betrayal." Yara lowered herself so that she sat on her bed. Her eyes still glared at him. "Your place should be with your family."

"I am a Greyjoy, but father acted without honor when he ordered his men to attack the coast. Lord Stark taught me honor. My place is with my king." Theon said firmly. "My King is Robb Stark."

"Then I suppose you made your choice." She almost seemed resigned. "I was coming for you. We thought you couldn't escape. That's why I was at Deepwood Motte." Her voice had turned bitter. "I suppose it would have been all for nothing."

"You're right it would have been." Theon said simply. "I wouldn't have left willingly."

"Right, because your a loyal Stark man." Her sarcasm wasn't lost on Theon. "And I'm sure it had nothing to do with that Stark girl downstairs. I may have been tied up, but I was not blindfolded. I saw how you reacted when that bastard showed any sort of interest in her."

It was his turn to glare at her. "You do not know me."

Yara let out a small, mocking laugh. "You a really are a fool."

"It was father who acted the fool. Surely you must realize that." Theon countered. "This war that's going on, it won't last forever. And once it's over, don't you think that whoever wins it will turn their attention on the Iron Islands, their full attention. I know and you must also realize, that father doesn't have the men to defend any of the lands he might take in the North. He might even lose the Islands in the attempt."

"I know my place is with Father." She answered stubbornly.

"Then perhaps all Greyjoys are fools." He shook his head and turned to leave. Without looking to her, he said "I'll write to Robb, I'll see if I can convince him to offer father some terms for your release. You won't be mistreated here. I can at least guarantee that you'll be kept comfortable. You'll be safe."

He could hear her sigh. "Well, at least there's that." Then quietly she added. "Theon, you'll want to be careful around that Snow. You weren't wrong to want to protect that girl from him." He turned to look at her. When she saw she had is attention she went on. "He killed for the fun of it, you could see in his face he enjoyed it. There were more prisoners, then just me. I'm the only one who made the journey here alive. I was too valuable to be mistreated. That doesn't mean that I wasn't though. He just made sure that my wounds couldn't be seen."

—

Weeks had passed since Ramsay Snow arrived at Winterfell with his men. At times it almost seemed peaceful. Arya found it to be extremely easy to avoid the Bastard of Bolton. He and his men seemed to keep to themselves, not bothering Winterfell and it's inhabitants. Since Yara had become a guest at Winterfell, reports of raiding parties had been going down. There were still Iron Born ships spotted on the coast, and from time to time one of them would be daring enough to pillage a small coastal town, but on the whole, things seemed to be calming down. Theon had sent Robb a raven telling him of Yara's capture, and Theon had thought maybe they were in talks with Balon to have her released. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, it seemed his father cared more about her safety than his. He forced himself not to dwell on that.

Things were quiet, and as the days went on, that seemed to unsettle the Theon and the Stark kids. They knew that the calm never lasted. At least it hadn't lately. That's why they weren't surprised when they saw another group of riders coming along. This time they came from the south along the King's Road and carried the wolf banner of the Starks. Ser Rodrik had returned home, and with him came unpleasant news.

It seemed that there had been a great battle for King's Landing. Stannis Baratheon had attempted to take the city and was beaten badly. His navy was in ruins, his army's numbers reduced to a point where he could not hope to launch another attack any time soon. The man himself had almost not escaped the city. He had found his way back to Dragonstone to lick his wounds. He was no longer a threat to Jeffrey and the Iron Throne The Tyrell's had thrown their support to the Lannisters. And that meant that all the Southron armies could turn their sole attention on the Riverlands and the North, on Robb and his armies. Ramsay Snow was being called to Moat Cailin to help the Reeds defend the Neck as a precaution.

Perhaps to Arya and Theon, the worst news of all was that Robb had gotten married, and it wasn't to any Frey girl. Walder Frey had been rightfully insulted and had almost called off the alliance with Robb. But somehow Robb had managed to appease the man. He had convinced their Uncle Edmure to marry one of Frey's daughters and Arya's betrothal would remain in tact. In fact it was now being moved up. She would have to travel, with a host of guards, to the Twins to attend the wedding of her Uncle, whom she had never even met, and shortly there after she would marry Elmar Frey.

On the night they found out, when Theon went to say goodnight to her he barged into her room without knocking. "I'm going with you when you leave." He could still feel the anger working its way through him. "I have a few things I'd like to say to your brother that I don't think a letter will do justice."

Arya was just as angry as Theon, but while his anger ran hot, hers felt cold. She walked over to him and took his hands in hers. She looked at him calmly, her voice held steady even though she felt like screaming. "You can't."

"Why not?" He asked defiantly.

"Because my other brothers need you here." Again she used that same calm voice. "Ramsay and his men are leaving, even with the men that Robb sent with Rodrik, Winterfell will be vulnerable again."

"You don't think I've thought of that?" She didn't realize it, but this was an argument she was not going to win. With her hands still in his, he pulled her over to the bed and sat down. She reluctantly sat down next to him. "I feel better about leaving here, knowing that Ramsay isn't going to be staying much longer after we leave. I've already talked with Ser Rodrik and Maester Luwin, we've come up with a way for your brothers to escape in case my father tries something. There is an exit plan. Your brothers would leave with the Reeds and that wilding woman Osha, that we caught all those months ago. If they have to leave, they'll head for Last Hearth, the Umbers will take care of them. I don't even think it would come to them having to flee. Syrio Forrell has also decided to stay on at Winterfell for a little longer. Apparently the First Sword of Braavos has taking a liking to you Starks and seems invested in protecting the family. With Rodrik here, I'm not needed here anymore. He knows better how to defend Winterfell then I do, he's had more experience."

Before responding to him, she looked at him carefully, she saw his determination. "I'm not going to talk you out of this am I?"

"No." He said stubbornly.

"Theon, this is going to be hell for you." She said miserably. "This is it. I'm actually going to have to marry that boy. It's not just someday anymore. It's going to happen soon. I didn't want you to be there when it happened. You don't need to go through that."

His smile was sad. "And I don't want you to have to go through that alone. You're stuck with me right up until the end. I told you I would always be there for you, even if it causes me some pain."

She pulled her gaze away from his and sighed, then rested her head on his shoulder. "I hate Robb."

"No you don't." Theon said knowingly. "You're angry with him. There's a difference."

"I know what the difference is," she said. "And I know I hate him. Why does he get to be happy?"

Theon didn't know how to answer her. It was probably because he felt the same way she did, and he knew there was nothing he could say to make her feel better. So they sat there quietly, he wasn't sure for how long. He stayed with her that night, even though he had promised himself that he wouldn't. And after that the next five days passed in a blur of activity. Before they knew it they found themselves on the King's Road, heading for the Twins.


	15. Chapter 15

The journey to the Twins passed more quickly than Arya would have expected. She supposed that time had felt like it had sped up for her because it felt like with each passing day her freedom was slipping away. The closer they got to their destination, the more her anger at Robb grew. She wasn't sure what exactly would happen when she came face to face with her brother, she knew she had a lot to say to him, but it was a mystery to her how she would go about expressing her anger towards him.

Ayra supposed she would find out soon. Their party had come to a stop, in the distance she could see from atop her horse, the towers of the Twins and the bridge that spanned the river between them. There was a small city of tents on their side of the river that flew the Stark banners and those banners of the houses who were fighting alongside Robb. Theon could see the frown on Arya's face as she looked out at the scene before them. He guided his horse over to where hers stood.

"Are you okay?" He asked tentatively wondering what her reaction would be to him approaching her. While they were traveling they hadn't talked much to each other. It seemed as if they had come to a silent understanding that it would be better if they kept their distance from each other. He wondered if it was because they thought it would be easier to part ways when the time came if they already started to cut ties with each other now. He didn't think it would work.

She didn't look at him, she just kept her eyes on the Twins, and she didn't answer his question. "Where do you think the twenty-second son of a Lord and his unfortunate wife live after they get married?" She canted her head to the side as if she was contemplating one of life's greatest mysteries. "Do you suppose I'll have to live in one of those towers with the rest of Lord Frey's family? Do you think there's enough room?" Finally she looked at Theon. "I don't think my father would have wanted this for me."

Her last statement made him frown, because he was fairly certain that Lord Stark would have wanted so much more for his youngest daughter. Instead of stating that obvious fact, he simply said, "I'm sure your brother will make sure you are well provided for." He let a bit of sarcasm creep into his voice, "he's a King now. He has the power to do as he wishes. Perhaps he'll grant your new husband some land."

Grimly, she nodded her head and then turned back to the Twins. "Are you ready for this."

"Probably more so then you are, my Princess," he said with a forced lightness.

"What did I say about calling me that." She attempted to banter back with him, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it.

"Come on, I'm sure your brother is waiting for us," he said, then motioned to the rest of the party that they were ready to move on. He directed his horse to start moving toward the tents. Reluctantly Arya followed behind him.

"Where's your wolf?" He called back to her as they resumed their journey.

"Hunting." Arya answered him distractedly, her thoughts still contemplating her doomed future

As they neared the Northern Army's encampment, they saw that some of the King's own guard had come out to greet them. As they led her to her brother's command tent she couldn't bring herself to look up at the bustling camp around her. She just kept her eyes on the ground, letting her horse be guided by the rider who walked in front of her. She wondered if the feelings she was feeling now, were similar to those of a condemned prisoner going to the gallows.

It wasn't long before they stopped. One of the guards helped her down from the horse. She numbly nodded her thanks as he instructed her that Robb, along with her mother would be waiting for her when she was ready to enter the tent he motioned to. For a moment she just stood there staring at the large tent. A fleeting question of why they weren't meeting inside Lord Frey's keep itself entered her mind. Surely the man would have offered Robb, his king, more suitable accommodations then a field tent. The question left almost as soon as it came, she had other things on her mind. She knew that entering that tent would be bittersweet. Her mother was in there, she hadn't realized how much she had missed Catelyn. And as much as she was angry with Robb, he was still her brother.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Theon asked as he stepped next to her.

She almost sighed in relief. She wasn't sure she could go in there alone, and she would have been too proud to ask him to go with her to confront her brother. She looked up at him with a grim sort of smile. "Yes, I really would like you to go with me." She wished she could grab his hand for the extra support, but knew at this time, in this place, it would not be a good idea. Instead she put on her most determined face, looked to the tent and started to walk towards it.

Once she slipped inside the tent, she had to wait a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkened interior from the sun outside. Once she did she was able to find her mother, who wore a small relieved smile. From her mother her gaze drifted to a pretty woman, who she figured to be Robb's new bride. Arya felt a small frown touch her lips, then looked to Robb who was had been sitting at his war table, but was in the process of standing up to greet her. She felt Theon step into the tent behind her, and the cold fury she had been trying to contain for the past few weeks started to bubble up within her.

Arya abruptly took her attention away from Robb and looked to two guards who were also in the tent, presumably there to protect the Royal Family. "Leave us." She told them, her voice cold and hard. For a moment, the guards just stood there, looking uncertainly at the furious little girl that stood be for them. "Leave us!" Arya said, this time it almost seemed like a warning.

The guards looked at each other, then they looked to their King. Robb sighed wearily and simply said, "it's okay. Go." It took only seconds for the guards to obey.

Once the guards had passed Arya and Theon who still stood near the tent's entrance, Arya calmly walked over to her brother. For a second all she did was glare at him, he had the audacity to look her in the eye as if nothing was wrong. That only fueled her anger. Finally she balled her left hand into a fist and launched a punch across his jaw as hard as she could.

"Arya!" Catelyn cried out in alarm.

Robb stumbled back once the contact was made, more from surprise than anything else. He raised a hand to rub his chin, surprised that it stung a bit. His little sister could pack quite the punch. "I think you've gotten stronger since I last saw you." Was all he managed to say before she stepped closer to him again and gave him a rough shove, forcing him back another step.

"How could you?" She asked him harshly. "You knew how he felt about me." She accentuated her anger by pushing him again.

"Theon!" Catelyn pleaded as she looked to him. "Do something."

"I'm sorry, my Lady," There was a small, proud smirk on his face as he watched Arya with her brother. "I don't think I could stop her, even if I wanted to."

Robb had heard Theon's words and cast annoyed glance toward his friend all while Ayra geared up to push him again. He could see another verbal assault was going to come his way along with the physical one. Before she could do either he quickly grabbed her wrists so she couldn't shove him again. "Arya stop."

She yanked wrists away from him, but didn't move to push him again. Anger was still alive within her, but instead of hitting him again she jabbed him roughly on his chest with her index finger. "Why should I? You deserve worse. You do as you please, not thinking of the consequences of what it will do to your family, to your friends." She jabbed him again. "You made a promise to Lord Frey. You broke it. And now you're forcing me to keep the other half of that promise you made him. What do you think Father would think of all of this? You put your happiness before everyone else's!"

"I love her." He looked to the woman he had not yet been able to formally introduce to Arya. It was the only thing he could say in response. It was no excuse, but it was his only reason.

"And I love Theon." Arya said, not looking to the girl. The words just came out of her as if she hadn't given them much thought. It was only after she said them that she realized it was the first time she had actually said the words out loud to anyone. She was certain that Theon himself knew how she felt, but saying them out loud made her feel a bit self-conscious. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, so her eyes stayed on Robb who seemed a bit taken aback at her admission.

For a brief moment Theon had thought he only imagined what he had heard. His eyes lingered on Arya, he wished he could will her to look at him, he wanted to be certain he had heard right, but she wouldn't bring her eyes to meet his. He of course knew that she loved him, her actions had proved it, but neither of them had ever said love to each other. He had almost said it, but she had stopped him with a kiss, knowing that saying it would only make them hurt more when they had to be parted.

Arya's heart thudded at the admission but she went on as if it were nothing. "But I don't get to marry him. Instead you're making me marry a stranger. Like you should have. But you put yourself ahead of your family… your friend. You put a pretty face above your honor." She knew it was cruel even as she said it, but she didn't care.

"Careful now, Arya." Robb said, his eyes had narrowed and his voice was dangerous. "You have every reason to be upset, but do not talk about my wife with such disrespect, remember she is your sister now too."

"Arya…" Catelyn started gently, hoping that she could calm the girl down. She was the only one who seemed not to be surprised by Arya's declaration.

Arya closed her eyes, and forced herself to count to ten. When she opened her eyes, she turned to the young woman who was Robb's wife. Her anger softened slightly, "I'm sorry my Queen. I'm sure you're a very lovely person and I do hope we get a chance to get to know each other. I didn't mean to take my anger out on you." Arya's eyes returned her gaze back to Robb. "My anger solely lies with my brother."

Arya missed the quiver of the woman's lips as she tried not to smile. "It's quite all right, Sister." She said. "And please call me Talisa."

Before Arya could answer, Robb held her gaze with a pleading look. "I am sorry, Arya." Robb was sincere, Arya could see that plainly, it gave her small comfort to know that he did feel guilty. "If I could alter the agreement with Lord Frey, I would. But I need his men, if we are to even have a chance at winning this war. I need him. He will not budge. Please, try to understand."

"I do understand." Arya said, her voice finally starting to even out, but there was still a bitterness to it. "Why do you think I haven't run away? I'm not just thinking of myself."

"I know." Robb said. "And don't think you don't have my gratitude. I know this is a huge sacrifice for you."

"I'm not sure you understand what I'm feeling." Arya said, and she sounded tired.

Robb watched his sister carefully. He stepped forward and tentatively wrapped his arms around her in what he hoped was a reassuring hug. "This isn't how I wanted our reunion to go. You're tired, you've had a long journey, we will talk later. I will try to make amends, I promise. I might have to give you away, but I won't abandon you. I'll always be your brother."

For the first few moments of the hug, she remained stiff, refusing to give an inch to her brother. But as he talked her heart seemed to thaw a little towards him. She realized she did love her brother, despite his stupidity. She knew there would be a long road to forgiveness, but he was her family. Finally, in one awkward gesture she returned the hug. She muttered a small jest, "if I have to marry this Frey boy, you better win this war, Your Grace."

Robb let out a small, quiet laugh. She hadn't offered her forgiveness, and he hadn't expected it. But at least she didn't seem to be shutting him out completely. "Don't worry I will."

Arya pulled away from her brother and gave him one final look. There was still an unhappiness to her that Robb could sense in the way she looked at him, but she was no longer openly hostile towards him. It was almost a relief to see her turn away from him so she could properly greet their mother. But the respite only lasted a moment, because once he wasn't focused on Arya, Robb could feel the weight of Theon's glare. For the moment he choose to ignore it and watched some of his mother's happiness return as Arya went to embrace her.

When Arya was in her mother's arms, she managed a true and genuine smile. She really had missed her mother. There was much comfort to be had in her mother's presence, and she needed the woman's support. She had a feeling her mother might know more about what she was feeling. It was the first time she felt that her mother could really help her. This knowledge made her feel like a child again, it made her feel vulnerable and she hated it. After a moment she pulled away from her mother.

"Robb is right. I think I need to rest some." Mostly she didn't want anyone else to see how weak she felt.

Catelyn smiled a little and nodded her head. She truly was happy to have another child of hers in such close proximity. She took her daughter, gently by the arm. "Come, I'll show you to your tent." She guided Arya back to the tent's entrance and came to a stop before Theon. "It's good to see you again Theon. You've kept your promise to me. Thank you."

Theon knew she had been referring to when she had ordered him to keep Arya safe before she had left Winterfell to go to King's Landing. It had seemed so long ago, but he remembered that day clearly. He bowed to her respectfully. "Lady Catelyn." When he straightened up, Cat noticed he didn't look back at her. His eyes were unsurprisingly on Arya. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. There was a lot of pain in their gaze, but there was also a resolve in them. It seemed the two of them had accepted their fate, even though it was obvious they were miserable. Catelyn hoped Robb knew what they were giving up for him. And there was a stab of guilt in her own heart at the part she had played when she had brokered the deal with Walder Frey in the first place.

Finally Arya spoke up, but did not take her eyes away from Theon. "I'm not the only one you hurt, Robb." With that said she let her mother lead her out of the tent.

Theon wanted to leave the tent too, he wasn't sure he could stay in the same vicinity as Robb at the moment. With his mouth set in a grim line, he made another bow in Robb's direction. "I'll take my leave Your Grace."

"Theon, wait." Rob said quickly.

"Right," said Talisa, finally speaking up again after watching the scene. "I'm going to go help your mother see to your sister." She moved over to her husband and kissed him gently on his cheek. She then looked to Theon with a sympathetic smile. "It was nice to meet you Lord Theon."

"Your Grace." He said with yet another bow. He wasn't sure he would ever get used to all this formality.

Talisa gave him another smile and then quickly left the tent as the two men watched her.

"She's lovely. I hope you'll be happy with her." Theon said, hoping he was able to keep at least a good portion of the bitterness he felt from his voice.

Robb studied his friend for a moment, "you're not going to hit me too are you?"

Theon let out a snort of laughter. "I had thought about it." He then let out a sigh. "But I don't have the luxury of being related to you. You could have me killed for such an offense, Your Grace."

Robb managed a smile. "You don't have to call me that when no one else is here. And I wouldn't kill you over something like that. I might even admit that I deserve it. You know, I really am sorry."

"So you keep saying." There was a frustration in his voice, "but that's not going to fix anything, you know that right?"

"I know," Robb slumped back into the chair he had been sitting in before they had come in. He motioned for Theon to take a seat as well and let out a small sigh. "I won't ever be able to make it up to you, or to her. But I hope at some point you can both forgive me."

"It'll take time." Theon said, a bit of a smile touching his lips, "and you're going to have to work really hard to make it happen."

"Any idea's on how to I can do that?" Robb asked with a dark chuckle.

"With Arya? Sure I have an idea," Theon said and looked to Robb to make sure he was listening. "After you've won this war, and you go back to Winterfell, take her and that boy who's going to be her husband with you. You're King, you can have who you want at your court, tell Lord Frey you want her there. She doesn't belong here in the river lands, she belongs in the North. After all your asking her to give up, don't make her give up her home too."

"Aye, I'll keep that in mind." Robb responded. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Theon asked, he hadn't really thought how Robb could help him. Then quietly he said, "for me, when this war is over, don't make me go back to Winterfell. I don't want to have to see her live her life with someone else. Send me back to Pyke, once you've dealt with my father, give me Pyke. It'll guarantee that you'll have a loyal ally in the Iron Islands. Maybe I can start cleaning up the mess my father made."

Robb just nodded his head. "I can't say that I won't miss having you around Winterfell, but I understand." He paused a moment. "You'll stay though, with the army, until the war is over?"

"You're my King, Robb. My sword is yours." Theon said simply. The words were not hollow, but there was still a tension in them. Theon thought that maybe the rift Robb had opened between them would take a long while to breach.

Robb must have sensed it too, and he knew that nothing but time could make things better, so he switched the subject. "How were my brothers when you left?"

Theon seemed to be grateful for the change too, "They seemed to be in good spirits. I think the miss you and your mother. Your father's loss hit all of them hard. I think having Meera and Jojen Reed there is good for them. Bran especially seems to get along well with them."

"And your sister?" Robb asked.

Theon shrugged at this, "she's comfortable, but angry."

"Understandable. We've contacted your father, but other then less raids on the coast, we've heard nothing." Robb said watching Theon carefully. He wasn't certain how his friend felt about what his father had done, and he wasn't sure he had the right to talk to him about it at the moment. It seemed like there was a tentative truce between them and he didn't want to force Theon to talk to him about anything too personal. "What about Roose Bolton's bastard, Ramsay?" He trusted Theon's instincts about the man. When Theon had sent Robb a raven explaining his misgivings about the man, he knew he had to get Ramsay away from his family and Winterfell.

"He and his men were preparing to leave when we left. They should be on their way to Moat Cailin by now, if not already there." Theon said. "But I don't trust him Robb, just make sure you know what you're doing when you choose to use him in the field."

"Noted." Robb said seriously. For a moment both of them were silent. It seemed like there were things that both of them wanted to say, but neither knew how to say them. Finally Robb spoke up again. "Thank you for coming, Theon. It means a lot."

"I didn't come for you." Theon muttered, he didn't mean to sound sullen, but the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"I know." Robb said with a sigh. "But I'm still grateful you're here and that you're going to stay."

Theon just nodded his head as if to say 'you're welcome.'

Robb realized that they had run out of things to say to each other. It was odd not being able to fall back into the easy friendship they had before he had left Winterfell. I guess that was just another consequence of his to marriage Talisa. Theon probably felt like Robb had taken away a chance for him to be happy. Robb wanted to say sorry again, but Theon had a point. Saying that wasn't going to make things better. So instead he said, "I should let you get settled in."

It was a dismissal, and Theon felt a little relieved by it, so he stood up and almost walked out of the tent without a word.

"Theon," Robb said quickly from his chair, "am I still your brother?"

Despite himself, Theon managed to turn and give Robb a small smile. "Now and always. That's what family does, right? Stick by each other no matter how much they hurt each other? No matter how stupid or selfish they act?"

—

Arya barely said anything to her mother and Talisa as they made their way to the tent that would be Arya's home for a very short time. Both her mother and her good sister tried to draw her out in conversation, but Arya only answered in sharp, curt, one word answers. When they reached the small tent, the Queen apologized to Arya that the accommodations weren't better.

"It's only for the night." Talisa explained. "Tomorrow we'll present ourselves to Lord Frey before your Uncle's wedding and I'm sure he'll offer you the hospitality of a proper room with proper bed."

Arya looked around the humble tent. There was a small, uncomfortable looking field cot, a small wooden table that held a pitcher of water, and a few other things that cluttered the small area. It would do, she didn't need much, and she'd rather be there in her brother's camp, than within the Frey walls. She looked to her mother. "Why hasn't Lord Frey offered his hospitality to Robb already?"

Catelyn sighed, there was a sudden exasperation in her expression. "Lord Frey has decided that he would rather all of us be presented to him together before he welcomed us. We had to wait for you to arrive. He used the excuse that he wanted to make sure all that was promised him would be here before he showed his forgiveness. I think he just wanted a chance to insult your brother one more time."

"He seems a petty man." Commented Arya.

"It is his way," Cat said with resignation. "But he was wronged. Your brother must bear the disrespect."

"This is the family you would have me marry into?" The disgust was plain in Arya's voice.

"They are not all bad." Talisa tried to soothe Arya. "Your brother had a Frey boy squire for him for a time, before… well before he married me. That boy seemed very loyal to Robb." Arya noted that at least the Queen did seem to feel bad about the situation she had caused.

"Is that the boy I am to marry?" Arya asked pointedly.

"No, my sweet girl," Catelyn said gently.

"Do you know this Elmar Frey?" Arya looked to her mother expectantly.

Catelyn just shook her head in the negative. "But perhaps he'll be similar. You might grow fond of him." She added quietly. "I did not love your father when I married him. But eventually I did grow to love him. It could be the same for you child."

A rush of anger came to Arya at her mother's words. Catelyn seemed to be dismissing her feelings for Theon if she thought she could grow to love someone else. Any happiness and warmth she had felt for her mother prior to this moment seemed to diminish. "And did you love someone else when you married him?"

"I thought I loved his brother, your Uncle Brandon." Catelyn said quietly, it was something she rarely talked about. "But I was young, much like you are. Perhaps what I did feel for him was love, but it faded with time and I was able to open my heart to your father."

"Uncle Brandon died!" Arya said "Theon isn't dead! And don't minimize what I feel for him as if it were some childish infatuation. I've never wanted to get married, to be a lady of a great house, that was always what Sansa wished for. But I'm old enough to realize that since I was born a girl, that was what my lot in life would be. I could have resigned myself to that fate, if it had been someone I loved. I could have been happy with Theon, Mother! You and Robb took that happiness away from me. And so help me, I'm trying really hard not to hate the two of you right now, because despite it all I still love you both, but I don't particularly want to be around you right now."

Arya knew that with those words she had hurt her mother. She regretted it instantly of course, but there was a small part of her that was satisfied that she was able to get back at her mother for her part in the pain she had caused Arya.

"I'll leave you then." It was plain to see that Catelyn had upset Arya more then help her. She obviously hadn't chosen her words as carefully as she should have. She knew her daughter really did love Theon, she hadn't meant to downplay those feelings Arya felt. Despite her hurt she could understand why her daughter had lashed out at her with such harsh words, but she doubted Arya would listen to an apology from her while she was so angry.

"Morther," Arya started, feeling a stab of guilt at hearing the hurt in her mother's voice. But still she couldn't bring herself to say she was sorry, because she wasn't sorry for what she said. The words were true, but maybe she could have said them in a more civilized manner. Instead she said, "perhaps tomorrow we'll talk further about this, after Uncle's wedding. I'm just very tired right now."

Catelyn just nodded, knowing that that would have to be enough for now. She then nodded at Talisa who had witnessed the entire encounter. Without another word Lady Stark simply walked out of the tent, her heart a mixture of hurt that her daughter was so angry with her and happiness that Arya was so near to her again. She only wished her other children were with her as well.

Inside the tent, Talisa tried to offer the younger woman a sympathetic smile. "I wish there was something I could say or do to help, but I know there is little that can be done. I never meant for any of this to happen. I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

Arya looked to the woman who had become her sister. She seemed kind, with her soft spoken words, and gentle manner. She could understand why Robb might have fallen in love with her. Arya doubted she could have hated her even if she tried. Given enough time they might even become friends, but right now she didn't particularly care for a friend. Especially one who had played so big a part in Arya's ultimate fate. "Forgive me, my Queen, but I just wish to be alone."

"Of course." Talisa could hear the misery in Arya's voice. "If you need anything. Anything at all, please come find me." With that she slipped out of the tent to give Arya the space she so desperately craved.


	16. Chapter 16

On the morning of her Uncle Edmure's wedding Arya was still in a foul mood. In a few short hours Robb would give Walder Frey his formal apology and Arya would be presented to her betrothed. She was even dressed for the part. Gone were the trousers and comfortable shirts she preferred. Her mother had decided that she would resume wearing the skirts of a proper lady. Thankfully she was able to wear a dress of a simpler Northern style along with a cloak that had been trimmed with fur. She felt clumsy in it, she just wasn't used to all the extra fabric. The clothing was just another reason for her to remain in a foul mood.

It seemed most people had enough sense to leave her alone. Her mother had only came to visit her once to see if she needed help getting ready, Arya of course promptly turned down the offer. After that, Catelyn must have told people to stay away and she was left alone for a good portion of the morning. Arya had even skipped her morning and midday meals with her family. She just didn't want to be around other people. She felt like she had to mentally prepare herself for the coming afternoon, and being around others would only serve as a distraction.

So of course, she found herself alone in her tent with her back to the entrance, as she was wrapping her Needle in a course cloth. She knew that she would never be allowed to wear it with her dress. For now she would store it in one of the trunks she had brought with her from Winterfell, hidden beneath some of her other clothing. She supposed her things would be moved to wherever Walder Frey would stash her after this evening. When she was done hiding her sword she straightened up and placed her hands on her hips. It felt strange not to have Needle's reassuring weight there.

Suddenly she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and she almost cried out before she heard Theon's familiar voice whisper in her hear. "Shh, it's just me." He said as he pulled her back against against him in an tight embrace.

"You really shouldn't be here." Despite saying this she felt herself relax against him, for the first time letting her guard down since they had arrived in Robb's camp. She had been trying to ween herself from craving his touch. He hadn't held her since they left Winterfell. And now here he was, reminding her what it felt like to be near him. How was she supposed to give him up?

"Relax," was his response. "I made sure no one saw me slip in here. Everyone seems to be avoiding you and your tent, it was easy."

"Not that I'm complaining," she said as she turned around in his arms and looked up at him. "But why did you come?"

"You weren't at the mid day meal with your family." He moved only one hand to reach into one of the folds of his cloak and pulled out an apple to present to her. "I thought you might be hungry."

Reluctantly she slipped out of his embrace and took the apple. "Thank you." She wasn't really hungry, but she took a bite of the apple. She rightly assumed that Theon was worried about her not eating, so she made an effort to put his mind at ease. He probably thought she needed to keep her strength up. Once her mouth was empty, she asked, "you ate with Robb and my mother."

He nodded his head, "yes, and with Queen Talisa too." He let his eyes take in her the dress and cloak she wore. He could admit that she did look lovely, a proper lady for a proper lord. And he hated it. It wasn't her. "I see your mother dressed you today."

"I have to look presentable for the Freys" She shrugged as if it didn't matter much to her. "How did that go, the meal I mean?" She absentmindedly took another bite of the apple, looking at him expectantly.

"It went fine." He said. "Sure it was a little tense at times, but I guess that's to be expected. I was actually hoping I would find you there. That was the only reason I accepted the invitation to dine with your brother. I had wanted to talk to you last night but I had figured you'd want to be alone after that confrontation with your brother."

"You guessed right." She said carefully. She had a feeling she knew exactly what he wanted to talk about. She turned away from him, setting the partially eaten apple on the small table next to her cot. She fidgeted nervously, she needed something to do with her hands, her eyes flitted around looking for something she could pick up. They landed on a brush she had discarded on the table earlier. Absentmindedly, she picked it up and started to run the brush through her hair. Her hair didn't need to be brushed again, but it gave her something to do, something that would take her focus away from Theon. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

He noticed her anxiety and stepped closer to her so that he stood just behind her, he reached for the brush, took it from her hands and then set it back down on the table. "You know exactly what I want to talk to you about." He said gently, into her ear. "Please look at me, Arya." He waited until she turned and then looked up at him. "What you said to Robb, did you mean it?"

"You know I did." She answered him simply. "You shouldn't even have ask that." She looked down again, and started to move herself further away from him. It felt dangerous to be this close to him right now, talking about how she felt.

His hand shot out to grab her waist before she could get too far, and he pulled her back to him. He used his other hand to lightly lift her chin so she had to look at them again. "Say it again." It was a quiet demand.

For a moment she said nothing. A flash of bewilderment crosses her features followed by what he could only assume was hurt. "Why would you ask me to do this? It changes nothing." There was a bittersweet tone to her voice.

"I just want to hear you say it." He could hear that his voice sounded the same as hers. "Just once, where you say it just to me, with no one else to hear."

"Alright," She thought maybe she understood why he wanted it. She had a feeling that deep down she wanted to hear the same words from him, even though she knew it would hurt. She raised her hands and took hold of his cloak, grasping it tightly with her fists as she looked up at him at him intently. "I love you."

He let a small smile touch his lips, but it never reached his eyes. "I love you too, Arya Stark." With that said, he leaned down and touched his lips to hers very gently, but he let the kiss linger and she didn't resist. It had just occurred to her what this was all about for him.

Once they ended the kiss, she didn't let go of his cloak, as if she was the only thing keeping him there. "This is you saying goodbye to me, isn't it?"

He looked down at her and nodded his head. "You might not be the one getting married today, but if from what your brother is assuming, you'll be moved into the Twins after the wedding. So you can start preparing for your own impending marriage. I'll be staying with the army. We probably won't have an opportunity to be alone together after this. I have a feeling Robb will be marching soon and I'll be going with him. And after we finish whatever campaign he has planned, we'll come back here for your wedding." That left a sour taste in his mouth.

"I wish I didn't have to think about any of this right now." She frowned up at him. "I wish you didn't have to say goodbye. I wish you didn't have to go off with Robb to fight some stupid battle that probably won't even solve anything. Why can't he just offer Sansa for Jaime? Why can't he just offer to bend the knee to Joffery and we can all go home, he never wanted to be king anyway."

"If only it was that easy Little Wolf." He offered her an amused smile as he pulled away from her and she let go of his cloak. "For one, it seems your brother has lost Jaime Lannister, even before he came here. Well, more like your mother helped him escape."

"Is my mother crazy?" Exclaimed Arya.

"I don't know, maybe a little." Theon answered. "The Kingslayer had tried to escape before and killed one of Lord Karstark's sons. Karstark wanted vengeance after the Kingslayer was recaptured. I think your mother was worried that if somehow Karstark got his wish and Jaime was killed, that would give leave for the crown to kill your sister. So she let him go…sort of. She ordered Brienne of Tarth, who swore to serve your mother, to take him to King's Landing in the hopes that they could make a prisoner swap."

"How did you find all this out?" Arya asked incredulously.

"It came up at the midday meal," he said with a smirk. "The one you chose not to go to, because you stubbornly wanted to stay away from your brother and mother."

She shot him a glare, "shut up."

He chuckled a little and leaned forward to give her a light kiss on her forehead. "Come on, I'll take you to your brother. I think it's almost time to go meet Walder Frey."

—

They made it easily to where her brother was assembling the party that would be entering the Twins with him. It seemed several of his most loyal men were to be present. Lord Frey had requested that Robb make his apology and admit his wrong doing publicly, in front of those who followed the King in the North. Arya and Theon were given brief introductions to those they had never met before, most notably Arya's Uncle Edmure Tully and her mother's uncle Brynden 'Blackfish' Tully.

While Theon managed to stay at Arya's side, he choose not to engage her in conversation. Her Uncle Edmure however managed to place himself at her other side and he was not shy when it came to conversation. He had concluded that since they were to have the same fate of marrying a Frey, that they should be allies over the next few hours. Arya was happy to have someone else in which to commiserate with, but mostly she just let Edmure air his complaints to her. At least it kept her from having to speak to anyone else.

"Stop complaining to the girl," rumbled the Blackfish as he came up to where the three of them stood. "She's handling the situation better then you are and I'd say she has a lot more to complain about than you do." Edmure looked like he wanted to protest, but once he saw his Uncle's expression, he wisely shut his mouth. Once he was certain of Edmure's silence, he looked to Arya, "I'm to ask about your wolf. I haven't seen one around camp except for Grey Wind, did you bring her with?"

"I brought Nymeria," Arya confirmed. "But she went out hunting yesterday and hasn't come back yet. I get the feeling there's too many people here to her liking. She's probably keeping to herself outside the camp. She'll come back to me eventually. Why?"

"Lord Frey doesn't feel comfortable with the wolves within the confines of his home. He's asked us to lock them in the kennels, at least while we're enjoying his hospitality at the wedding." Brynden said.

Arya turned her attention to where her brother stood with his wolf, and who she assumed to be the Twin's kennel master. She could hear Grey Wind's low growl from where she stood. It seemed like the wolf was not happy with the arrangement at all. She saw Robb talk quietly to Grey Wind, she guessed he was attempting to calm the animal down. What he said seemed to work as the wolf willingly walked off with the kennel master. She then looked to Brynden, "my brother can tell Lord Frey that once Nymeria shows herself again, I'll bring her to the kennels myself."

"That'll have to do." Brynden shrugged as if it made no difference to him. "We'll be starting in soon. Best be on your best behavior." He looked pointedly at Edmure, and with that said he walked back to Robb.

"That man, my Uncle, hates me." Edmure commented as if he just stated that the sky was blue. "Come, my dear niece, let me escort you inside so that we can see what, or rather who, awaits us. I'd just as soon get this over with."

Arya took her uncle's offered arm and then looked over to Theon. She gave him a look that seemed to ask if he would be okay if she went in with Edmure. He gave her a small, tight smile and nodded his head. He mouthed the words, I'll be right behind you. She gave him a small smile to let him know that she understood, then allowed Edmure to lead her on.

When they entered the hall in which Lord Frey would be receiving them, they were each to take a bit of bread and salt as part of the guest right. Arya listened as Walder said the correct ceremonial words that would promise Robb and anyone in his party safety while under his roof. She fidgeted a little, she always found formalities tedious. And the next formality wasn't going to be much better as she realized Robb was about to extend his apologies for breaking the marriage contract.

Theon must have noticed her restlessness, because he moved closer to her. His left hand was down by his side, the same as her right hand was at her side. Subtly he let the back of his hand brush against the back of hers. A gesture that let her know he was just as uncomfortable as she was. A faint smile tugged at her lips when she felt his touch, it was amazing what a small gesture from him could do for her nerves. Gods she was going to miss him. She crushed that thought as soon as it entered her mind, she couldn't think about that right now.

Arya brought her attention back to the drama that was playing out before her. Apparently Robb apologizing to Walder Frey wasn't enough. The petty lord was now parading his daughters and a few of his granddaughters before everyone so that her brother could apologize to them as well. Arya watched intently as each girl entered. There were certainly a lot of them. She leaned slightly toward Edumre and whispered very quietly, "just think Uncle, one of those beauties is going to be your wife."

Theon must have heard what she said, because he let out a small cough to hide the laugh that had threatened to escape his lips. Arya had to press her lips tightly together to keep from laughing too. Edmure looked a little worried at the thought that one of those women could be the Roslin Frey, who he would be marrying soon.

After a few seconds of pretending to listen to Robb's heartfelt apologies to the females of the Frey family, Edmure leaned down slightly and lightly whispered to Arya, "well if those are the Frey women, imagine how the men of the family look, my dear, sweet Niece." He said pointedly looking in Walder Frey's direction.

That was enough to sober her up, instead of replying she simply glared ahead, pretending to pay attention to Robb's little speech, which actually seemed to be coming to a close. However once Robb was done talking it seemed that Walder was not yet done with him. Instead the old man had Talisa step forward, so that he could examine the woman who had made Robb forget his promise. After had gotten a good look at the Queen, Walder Frey continued to make inappropriate comments about her brother's wife. Ayra had been standing behind her brother and from her vantage point she could tell that by his stance he was livid. Their mother even had to put a hand on his arm to keep him from doing anything rash.

Arya muttered under her breath, "this is a nightmare," just as Walder had finished with Talisa.

"Now, where is this sister of yours, the one who is to marry my youngest son?" Walder asked, as his eyes peered through the crowd that had gathered in his hall. His eyes rested on Arya and he bid her to come forward. "You, are you the girl? Come let's get a good look at you."

Arya looked, first at her brother, who moved out of her way and turned, so that his eyes locked with hers. She gave him a pleading look, that asked him to try and get her out of this. But she knew there was nothing he could do, and he just nodded her forward, his eyes full of remorse. Her heart thumped with something she wasn't ready to call fear, but she was nervous that she would be put under the same scrutiny as Robb's wife. Her eyes moved to her mother who could only give her a small, encouraging smile.

"Come on girl, we haven't got all day." Walder said impatiently.

For a second she wondered what would happen if she choose not to walk forward so that he could inspect her. But then she felt the light weight Thoen's hand on the small of her back, coaxing her forward. He took a few steps with her, but stopped before left the confines of the small crowd they had stood in. "I'm right here Little Wolf," He murmured as she moved past him to bring herself closer to their host. With those words she seemed to regain a little confidence and was able to look up at Walder with as much defiance as she dared.

Robb stepped closer to Theon, to close the gap that Arya had left. He didn't bother to look at his friend, but he did whisper quietly to him, "just remember to stay calm."

"You're a small little thing," Walder finally said after appraising Arya for a few moments, "aren't you?"

"I suppose so, my Lord." Arya managed to say with some degree of curtesy.

"You definitely have the Stark look to you," Walder continued without so much as acknowledging that she had said anything. "Although that's not necessarily a bad thing, you have a look to you that some men might consider appealing."

"Thank you, my Lord." This time she didn't even try to sound polite, it came out harsh and sarcastic.

This seemed to amuse Lord Frey, and he even chuckled a little. "I see the stories about your wildness are true. No matter, I'm sure Elmar can put up with it, until you learn some respect."

Arya balled her hands up into tight fists, she could feel her nails digging into her palms. She was trying very hard not let her temper get the better of her. Her mother must have seen that she was very close to losing the battle to remain calm. Catelyn quickly stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Arya's arm. "Lord Frey, perhaps now would be a good time to introduce Arya to her intended."

"Ah, yes, of course," Walder waved over to a group, of what Arya assumed, were some of the man's sons.

While he did this, Catelyn leaned in to whisper lightly in her daughter's ear, "you're doing fine, Arya. Just stay calm a little longer. He's doing this more as an insult to your brother, then to you. He knows that Robb needs him and that your brother has to endure all the petty insults he can throw his way. Even at your expense. It won't always be this miserable."

Arya simply nodded her head once to show that she understood. She watched as a boy about her own age came forward at the behest of Walder. He was a plain looking boy. Nothing about him stood out, form his drab brown hair to his drab brown eyes.

"Lady Arya, allow me to introduce you my son Elmar." Walder allowed himself to have a satisfied smile come to his lips.

The boy bowed slightly at the waist in greeting. "It is an honor, my lady." He said, from the expression on his face, Arya could tell that he wasn't too thrilled about the arrangement either.

However, Arya couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for him. Instead there was still a fair amount of anger and hate swirling around within her. She allowed herself to give him a shallow curtsy in response to his bow, but she spoke no words of greeting. She just gave him a cold glance of her grey eyes, before dismissing him altogether to glare back up at his father.

Robb watched the whole exchange, and if he was honest with himself, it had gone a lot smoother then he thought it would go. Again he whispered out of the side of his mouth to Theon, "are you okay?"

The first time Theon saw the Frey boy, there was a stab of jealousy that pierced his heart. He quickly fought the feeling away. Arya it seemed wasn't impressed with him, if the cold response she had given the boy was any indiction. That did not surprise him. "I actually feel bad for the boy." He whispered back, trying to sound calmer then he felt. "She's going to make his life miserable."

—

A couple of hours after the initial meeting, Edmure and Roslin's wedding ceremony took place. Much to her Uncle's delight, it turned out that Roslin had not been included in the parade of Frey girls earlier that day. Roslin proved to be quite the beauty. Everyone seemed to be amused by Edmure's reaction when he had lifted the veil to take that first look upon his bride, it had been a mixture of surprise and awe.

The feast afterwards was a rowdy affair. Walder, it seemed, had spared no expense when it came to preparing the food and he had allowed the wine and ale to flow freely. Everyone, it seemed, was enjoying themselves immensely. Everyone except for Thoen, Arya, and maybe Elmar. The boy had tried several times to talk with Arya in the hopes of breaking the ice into a tentative friendship before they got married. She spurned every advance he tried, before he gave up and sauntered off to find more friendly company.

The moment Elmar left her side, Theon came and sat down next to her. "Well, he seemed relentless." Was all he said. "What did you two talk about?"

"I can't believe my brother is leaving me with these people," was all she replied with. "That boy was a complete bore. He went on and on about his older brothers and the rest of his family. I think maybe he also tried to discuss the finer points of the Twins with me, but eventually I tuned him out. Thank the gods he got the message and left."

"You know you're not going to be able to dismiss him that easily once you're married." Theon said darkly.

"Yes, I know," she said, trying to sound flippant. "I'm sure he'll have to teach me some manners."

Theon scowled at that, but said nothing, he didn't like thinking about what Lord Frey had meant when he said Arya would learn some respect. He was sure it had meant nothing good, he knew that plenty of men thought cruelty was a way to tame a difficult woman. And Arya was headstrong enough to fight them every step of the way, making it harder on herself. Maybe Elmar would only be a boring husband, not a cruel one. His attention turned to Elmar, who had found more suitable company with several boys his own age. He was carrying on and laughing as if he hadn't been shunned by the girl he was supposed to marry. The first thought to enter Theon's mind when he looked at the boy was that if he ever found out he hurt Arya, he would kill him. Of that he had no doubt.

Arya and Theon must have caught Lady Catelyn's attention, because she easily made her way through the crowd to the table that they sat at. She sat down next to Arya and looked at Theon, "do you mind if I have a word with my daughter Theon?" Her voice was kind and maybe a little regretful for asking him to leave her daughter's side.

"Of course, my lady." Was his reluctant response. He stood up slowly, "I could use some air anyway." He looked to Arya, Catelyn could see the longing in his eyes when they were focused on her daughter. He rested a hand on Arya's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "Good night." He told her quietly. "And to you too, my lady." He said politely to Catelyn and then walked off quickly before either of them could respond.

Arya brought her attention to her mother. "Well, you managed to scare him off."

"I didn't scare him off Arya." Catelyn sounded tired. "I just reminded him that the two of you sitting alone together isn't exactly a good idea, especially within the house of the man who is going to be your father-in-law. Some might even think it disrespectful."

Arya felt the frown she had worn most of the night deepen. "I grew up with him. He's, he's like family." She stumbled a little over those words. "We were doing nothing wrong."

"You're not just family, Arya." Catelyn said quietly, "anyone with eyes who's watching closely enough, will see that the two of you love each other. You have to be careful, even if you weren't doing anything wrong, someone might jump to conclusions. This agreement your brother has with Lord Frey is tentative. It could all come crashing down if he gets the wrong idea. Lord Frey is fickle and he's already been hurt by our family once. Who knows how he would react if he thought anything improper happened between you and Theon."

"I understand, Mother." Was Arya's unhappy reply. "I'll be careful."

Catelyn rested a hand on top of her daughter's. "I know it's unfair to put this all on your shoulders. I wish I could keep you from having to go through with this."

"But you can't," Arya let a small sigh escape her lungs. "Don't worry mother, I've accepted my fate. I'll survive. I'm a Stark, I'll do what I'm honor bound to do, even if I do it reluctantly."

Catelyn squeezed her daughter's hand, "I'm proud of you Arya."

Arya looked at her mother, with a small amount of surprise, those were words she never thought her mother would say to her. She managed to give Catelyn a small smile. "I suppose there is a first time for everything."

"It's not the first time." Cat said with a gentle reassurance.

Arya's first instinct was to reply with humor, she wasn't used to being praised by her mother and it made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Instead she studied her mother seriously, almost as if she was looking for some sign that her mother was lying. Arya could find none. Suddenly she leaned over to her mother and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Mother." She said just above a whisper. There was still a part of her that was angry with her mother for her part in the Frey deal, but at this moment she was willing to look past it.

Catelyn had been taken aback by Arya's show of affection, but accepted it almost greedily. When she reluctantly pulled away from her daughter she noticed Elmar Frey looking their way. He seemed to have a determination in his eye, as his gaze settled upon Arya. Cat had a feeling he was going to once again try his luck at engaging her daughter in a conversation. And she knew her daughter wasn't ready for that, at least not tonight. So tonight she would play the protective mother. "Arya, perhaps you would like to get some fresh air too." She nodded her head towards Elmar.

Arya looked casually to where her mother had gestured and saw that Elmar had indeed started to make his way towards them. She quickly brought her attention back to her mother. "Yes I think that's a wonderful idea." She said gratefully. She stood up quickly and leaned down to give her mother a kiss on the cheek. "Good night mother, I'll talk to you in the morning." She didn't wait for her mother to respond, she quickly turned and fled for the doors that led out of the great hall.

Once she was out in the crisp night air she let out a sigh of relief that she had managed to escape another boring conversation. There were still people milling around outside the building, it appeared that the wedding festivities had spilled outdoors as well. She wondered if there was any place for her to have a private moment. She had no idea if Lord Frey had had a room prepared for her and even if he did she had no idea where it might be, so there was no solace offered in that.

She supposed she could make her way back to the tent she had slept in the night before. It would be away from where most of the feasting tents that had been set up for the occasion. And while it was certain that there would be people walking about throughout the camp, it would be a lot quieter then where she stood now. The fact that she didn't know her way around the camp all that well, and that it was dark didn't phase her at all. She just calmly started in the direction that she had come from earlier that day.

—

While Arya had been talking with her mother, Theon had managed to find his own quiet place that was outside. He of course wasn't completely alone, but he found a place near the kennels. It seemed that even when Grey Wind was locked up, he made people nervous. The only men who seemed to be comfortable around the caged animal were some of Robb Stark's own men, who were used to the wolf, and the kennel master.

Theon sat upon a wooden crate that had been placed near the cage that held Grey Wind. He watched as the Stark men drank and joked with the kennel master. They were so busy in their own merriment that they didn't seem to notice him sitting there at all, which he was fine with. It gave him the illusion of being alone and he had a feeling they would offer him drink if they had noticed him and he might have accepted in spite of himself. He thought drinking might have helped to dull the ache in his heart every time he thought about Arya and what awaited her in the future. But he also knew he needed to keep his wits about him, or he might do something stupid in the hopes of keeping her from having to live that future. So he wanted to stay away from the ale and wine that Walder Frey had been so generous in giving to everyone.

As the minutes passed, he watched as the Stark men became especially rowdy. Theon said lowly to the wolf in the cage he sat next to, "Your master's men are acting like fools. Suppose I can't blame them though, they don't know the next time they're going to have a chance to celebrate anything." He smiled a little when he heard Grey Wind whine, "oh don't worry, the last time I saw Robb, he wasn't drinking enough for him to act stupid. Besides he doesn't need the alcohol to make him do something dumb."

Grey Wind whined again, this time a little louder, and Theon realized it had nothing to do with what he said. Something seemed to change around him, as if the air around him seemed to grow a little tenser. He wasn't quite sure what made him aware of the change. He looked around quickly, but no one else seemed to think anything was wrong, they just continued on with their talking and laughing. And then he locked eyes with Walder Frey's kennel master. The man looked completely sober, despite the fact that he had seemingly drank just as much as the Stark men. With that observation, other things started to dawn on Theon Greyjoy. The music coming from the keep had changed. Gone were the traditional songs that were played at weddings and in it's place a sad almost mournful song. Theon hadn't been sure what it was, but the music played with his memory, like he knew what it was, but couldn't quite place it.

Just as Theon was staring to puzzle things out, the kennel master who he was still looking at him, called out while trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. "You're Theon Greyjoy, right? Close friend to the King In the North. Come let me pour you a drink!"

"No, I'm good, thanks." Theon answered him carefully. After he had spoken the words, another moment of clarity came to him. The song had continued to play and he had finally recognized it. The Rains of Castamere. Why in the seven hells were they playing a Lannister song at a wedding that Robb Stark had been attending? He slowly started to stand up. A small group of men, men that Theon could tell were Frey men, had started to walk into the area that held the kennels. They tried to appear casual as they started to mingle with the Stark men, but their hands were on their weapons. The Stark men still noticed nothing, too drunk and too lulled into a false sense of security.

The kennel master still seemed to be intent on him as he took a few steps closer to where Theon stood. He must have sensed that Theon had started to figure out that things were about to go very poorly for the men who were loyal to the Stark banner. The kennel master started to reach for his sword, and quietly said to him, "we were told that if we saw you, we were to try to take you alive, m'lord. You have no armor, no weapons, please don't be stupid." As he said this he drew his sword, and so did the rest of the Frey men.

That was when the Stark men knew that something was wrong. They tried to defend themselves, but it was too late and the drink had made them too slow. Theon watched in helpless horror as the men were cut down with a cool efficiency.

"Well?" The kennel master asked Theon hadn't answered. "Are you going to come with me peacefully?"

In the second it took for Theon to look from the carnage of the dead Stark men, back to the kennel master a steel resolve must have come over him. It was true that he had no armor or weapons, but that did not mean he didn't have a way of fighting back. "I don't think I will," he answered. Before the kennel master had time to reply, Theon reached for the kennel's latch and yanked it down so that it would open.

Grey Wind must have been waiting for that moment because as soon as he had sensed that the door had been unlocked, he pushed his way through it and jumped at the kennel master, knocking him off of his feet. The sword the man had held clattered to the ground. The Frey men who had just partook in the murder of Robb's men, all cried out in alarm as they watched the dire wolf tear the kennel master's arm from it's socket. Theon paid no attention, as the wolf started after the next nearest Frey man, he quickly reached for the kennel master's sword. The man would have no use for it now, and at least Theon would now be armed. His one thought was to try to get to Robb, to warn him, never stopping to realize that it had already been to late.

After Grey Wind and Theon dispatched the rest of the Frey butchers in that area, Grey Wind started to lead them towards the gates that would lead them back to main entrance of the hall. The wolf seemed to know exactly where his master was. Theon followed behind, at a bit of a distance, knowing that the Frey men would consider the wolf a bigger threat then one lone man. He hoped that if he stayed far enough behind he could spot anyone that might give Grey Wind some trouble and he would be able to help fight off anyone who might try to harm the wolf. They came across surprisingly little resistance before they reached the gates. But from the screams and shouting that rang out around them, he knew that the Frey men were busy elsewhere. He also couldn't help but wonder if the lack of chaos surrounding them meant that Frey's betrayal had been completely successful.

When Grey Wind finally reached the gates, Theon noticed that there had been several guards stationed there, no doubt to make sure that no loyal Northmen would try to storm the gates to save their King. Grey Wind didn't hesitate to go in for the kill, he hadn't even stopped to think about which guard he would kill first, he simply worked on instinct. Theon however, did not have that luxury. He stayed back a moment, contemplating his next move. Thankfully the Frey men's attention seemed to be focused on the wolf, but Theon knew that eventually the wolf would be over powered if he didn't act soon.

Theon's indecision only lasted seconds before he was spurred into action. One of the guards had raised a crossbow and was aiming it at Grey Wind. Theon quickly moved into a place where he could slash at the Frey guard's wrists with his sword, forcing him to drop the cross bow. Theon then proceeded to stab the guard through the neck. The moments that followed after that were a blur of Theon swinging the sword he wielded and Grey Wind snapping and biting at the guards. He knew they must have killed or injured most of them, but not without a cost. Theon felt blood dripping from a cut that he must have gotten above his his left eye. There was a searing pain at the back of his left shoulder from where a Frey man had slashed at his back. Grey Wind had a cross bow bolt sticking out of his side.

Neither of them seemed to care for their injuries, they were solely focused on winning the battle. Which at the moment had turned against them. Theon had misstepped as he was parrying a vicious sword swipe from a guard and managed to fall backwards, loosing his sword in the process. Grey Wind had been too busy taking care of his own man to realized that Theon had been in trouble. The guard sensing that his own victory was in sight he let out a low chuckle as he raised his sword to finish Theon off.

Just before the guard was about to deliver the finishing blow, an arrow lodged in his chest. The guard looked down, he looked surprised to see the arrow was there, and even more surprised when another arrow joined the first one. The guard dropped the sword and fell to his knees as Theon lifted himself and his sword off the ground. Theon, not about to waste the opportunity, lifted his sword and jammed it into the guards heart. And all of the sudden everything seemed to be still. The skirmish seemed to be over.

Theon breathed heavily as he turned around to see a boy, not too much older then himself walk up to him carrying a bow, with a quiver of arrows attached to his back. He must have been the person who had come to his aide. Grey Wind didn't seem phased by the stranger, and that was good enough for Theon to trust him. At least for them moment. "Thank you."

The boy nodded at him, and then Theon looked to the gates. "We have to get in." He watched as Grey Wind pawed at them, growling lowly in frustration that he couldn't reach his master.

"They're barred," the boy said simply, even as Theon went over to the gates, pushing at them uselessly, "we'll never get in. We have to go, there will be more men coming."

"You don't understand," Theon forced the words out in frustration. "Robb is in there, I have to warn him."

"It's too late for that." There was a note of anxiety in the stranger's voice now. "We have to go my lord." He grabbed Theon's arm, trying to physically pull him away from the gates. "It is not safe here."

Theon yanked his arm away from the boy. "I left Arya in there." He practically spit out. "I left her and her mother in there." It was the first time since he had figured out what was going on, that he allowed himself to think of her. He must have known that if he allowed his mind to think of her, he would have been distracted with worry. But now that it seemed he would not be able to reach her, she was all he could think about.

"Arya Stark?" The boy asked.

"Yes, I told her I would be there for her. I'm not leaving her here."

The boy grabbed Theon's arm again, "look you don't know if she was in there, she might have gotten out. Even if she didn't, they wouldn't dare kill her. She's too valuable." The boy could hear a commotion in the background, he had no doubt more men were on their way, "but right now you need to leave. If you get yourself killed, you can't do anything to help her."

Theon must have heard the men coming too. Because he looked helplessly at the gates, then to Grey Wind who still pawed scratched at the surface. Then Theon felt the stranger starting to pull him away and he seemed to wake up. He knew that what the boy had spoken was the truth. He was no good to anyone dead. He turned to follow the boy away from the gates.

Once they were at a semi safe distance away, Theon stopped abruptly and turned back to see if Grey Wind was following him. The wolf had stayed behind, he was so intent on reaching Robb, that he hadn't noticed that Theon had left him there. Theon was just about to call for Grey Wind to come to him, when he saw two more bolts fly into the wolf. Theon watched in disbelief as he saw his friend's wolf drop to the ground. Theon moved as if he wanted to go back and help the wolf.

The boy who Theon was fleeing with had stopped too and he grabbed Theon's arm before he could make such a reckless move, "you can't do anything for him."

Not taking his eyes from the, now dying, wolf, Theon simply nodded his head to show the boy that he understood. He lifted his gaze to look at the tower of the Twins that stood before him. His heart felt like lead as he realized he might have lost everything that he had held dear in just one night. The last thought he had before he fled with the boy who had saved his life was a silent plea to any of the gods who would listen. 'Please let her be okay.'


	17. Chapter 17

Arya had been in her tent when the screaming started. She had been there for about ten minutes, sitting on her cot, lost in thoughts involving her family and Theon and the unfairness of what her life was going to be, when she was shaken from her thoughts by men crying out in panic and pain. At first she wasn't sure of what she had heard, then more cries followed the first ones. She shot up from the cot and stormed over to the opening of her tent, pushing open the flaps so she could peer out, but making no move to actually leave until she could figure out what was going on.

What she saw was chaos in the distance, in the direction of where the feasting tents had been set up. It seemed that several of them had caught on fire. She could see men running from the flames. She was about to step out of the tent, ready to go see if they needed help when another round of shouting caught her attention. This time it was from a crowd of men, well away from where the fire was and much closer to where she was now. What she saw made her blood run cold.

Arya saw a group of men, some of which held shields that had the Bolton's flayed man etched upon them, cut down another group of men, only these men had been seated under a Stark banner. The Stark men had clearly been drunk and slow to respond, which made it all the easier for the Bolton men to slaughter them. Arya nearly cried out in horror as she realized what was going on. Thinking quickly she clapped a hand to her mouth, so any noise she made wouldn't be heard. She let the tent flaps fall closed. No one knew she was here, she needed to make sure it stayed that way for a few seconds while she collected her thoughts.

She had just witnessed one of Robb's banner men betray him. She now knew that the fires she had seen were probably deliberately set. How many men had been caught within those tents when they were sent up in flames. She shuddered in horror as she realized that those running away from the fire were probably cut down as well. She could hear the sounds of fighting getting closer outside her tent. She needed to leave, she needed to find Robb and her mother. She needed to find Theon. Gods, were they okay? Was the same betrayal that was going on out here happening within the Twins, too. That's when the thought struck her that maybe Bolton wasn't the only one to betray her brother. What if Walder Frey had been in on it too, they were on his lands after all? That would mean that anyone left with in the keep's walls might be in danger too.

That spurred her into action. She crossed over to the trunk she had been packing earlier that day. She had thought it would have been removed to the room she was to occupy at the Twins, but it made sense why it would still be here if Walder Frey had betrayed them. She wouldn't have been a guest, at best she would have been a hostage, so it wouldn't have mattered if she had her things with her. At least it worked to her advantage in this instance. She threw the trunk open and tossed aside the useless clothing, anxious to find her Needle. It did not take her long to find the cloth she had stored it in, and only seconds for her to unwrap her sword.

Once it was in her hand she felt a little more calm. She wasn't stupid enough to think that she was safe, but it gave her some sense of being in control. She knew that there was an army of men, half friend, half foe between her and those she loved. It seemed foolish for her to try to make it back to the keep, but she couldn't think of anything else to do, so she took a deep breath and pushed her way out of the tent. Only to come into contact with the armored body of a Bolton man.

He looked down at Arya clearly amused, "well, if it isn't the little wolf bitch. I'm sure Lord Bolton will be happy to hear that I found you."

He must not have noticed Needle in Arya's hand, because just as he made a grab for her she brought the sword up in an attempt to stab the soldier's abdomen. Much to her dismay and surprise, nothing happened, Needle barely scratched the surface of the man's armor. The man, of course laughed at her and knocked the sword from her hand. She glared up at him as he reached for her again. She was about ready to fight him tooth and nail with her bare hands if need be, when a heavy weight hit him from the side.

Arya cried out in alarm when the knight fell down and grabbed on to her skirts managing to bring her down to the ground as well. She was about to get up and take the opportunity to run, when she saw what it was that had hit the Bolton man, thus saving her in the process. Arya watched as the wolf teared at the man's armor, trying to get to his flesh. Nymeria had found her master. Arya picked up her sword, ready to help, but she realized the wolf did not need it. Nymeria had found her way to the man's throat, it wouldn't be long before he died.

However, he had only been one man, and Arya knew that more would be coming. They needed to leave, and they needed to do so quickly. She took her first steps towards the keep, but Nymeria growled at her, as if to warn her from going that way. Then the wolf made the obvious move of turning away from the keep, and starting towards the outskirts of the camp. Clearly Nymeria wanted her to go that way, towards safety. Arya hesitated for only a moment. Those who mattered most to her were in the opposite direction of where Nymeria wanted to go. She looked down at Needle, it had done nothing against a fully armored man. She had been fooling herself to think she could fight her way towards those she loved. Sure she could take on a man who didn't wear armor or she might get lucky and hit a weak spot in someone's armor, but she couldn't take on a grown man in a fight. Nymeria wouldn't be able to take on everyone they would come across. She looked at her wolf one more time, then back at the Twins. She really had no choice. She would have to leave Robb, her mother, and Theon behind. She was only one girl, one girl who could do nothing to save those she cared about.

All of these thoughts occurred to her within a few seconds. Nymeria growled again to get her attention, to remind her that they had to leave. Despite knowing what she had to do, she was still reluctant to leave. It felt wrong to save herself. Nymeria seemed to understand that she was still having second thoughts, so the wolf gathered up some of Arya's skirt in her teeth and tugged.

"Okay," Arya said tonelessly she could feel herself going numb, trying to make herself not feel the pain and panic of leaving her family behind. "I'm coming." And with that she let Nymeria lead her in the opposite direction that her heart wanted to go.

They weren't avoiding the danger completely, just staying away from the center of it. They tried to stay hidden most of the time, dodging from the shadow of one tent to another. They still managed to come across a few men who seemed intent on stopping them. Having a wolf near her was a dead give away that she was a Stark. Anyone who was brave enough to approach Arya and Nymeria soon found themselves fighting off a very angry dire wolf. Arya at one point was forced to fight off a couple of men. Neither of them wore the heavy armor the first man had and she was able to get in a few slices that must have broke skin. Because they didn't gave chase when Arya and Nymeria ran and Arya had noticed that Needle was a little bit bloodied.

They didn't stop when they reached the camp's perimeter. She realized that she had only escaped because of the mass confusion that resulted from the massacre. She was sure that someone, whether it be Bolton or Frey, would notice her absence or the lack of her body once things had calmed down. Arya knew they wouldn't be safe until the found some sort of cover. Nymeria seemed to know where to go, and Arya trusted in her guidance. Even as the camp grew distant, the light from the fires, although dim, let her see where she was going.

Eventually, as the light from the camp was starting to fade, Arya found that Nymeria had taken her to a wooded area that, in the dark seemed to be large enough to hide her. At least for a little while, she was getting tired, she needed to rest. She stopped just before entering he tree line, knowing that it would be darker within. "So this is where you've been hunting." She said quietly to Nymeria.

The wolf whined in response and then trotted into the woods, expecting Arya to follow her. Which of course Arya did, only not as confident as Nymeria. "Not too far ahead, you can see a lot better in the dark then I can." She snapped at the wolf, hoping her voice didn't carry, just in case there was someone near by. Nymeria came back and walked just ahead of Arya, so the girl could follow her easily.

After about twenty minutes of Arya stumbling in the dark, Nymeria brought them to a stop. Nymeria must have known that Arya needed her rest. Soon Arya found herself leaning heavily against a tree. She slid down so that she was sitting. She knew that eventually she would have to get up to move again. She could not hide here forever, eventually someone would come looking for her. Someone would figure out that this wooded area would be the perfect place to hide. But for right now she could not go on. She was worn out, she couldn't tell if it was because she was tired or if it because she was in shock. It was probably a little bit of both.

Now that she didn't have the task of escaping foremost in her mind, the quiet of the woods gave her mind a chance to wander. Her thoughts were a mixed up jumble of the people she was worried about and their fates. She felt the tears start to well up in her eyes, she had to fight to keep them from falling down her cheeks. She tried to reassure herself that since she got away, maybe Theon, Robb, and her mother had gotten away too. She knew it was a hollow wish, but it was all she had. It didn't seem fair for her to still be alive if they were gone.

—

It had taken Theon and the man who was with him awhile to get through the chaos of the camp. As they made their way, Theon had seen Bolton men fighting against Robb's more loyal banner men. Somehow that didn't surprise him that Bolton would align himself with Lord Frey. They were forced to fight only a few times, but for the most part they were left alone. Theon thought maybe it was because they showed no outward sign of being loyal to Robb, and he hadn't been in camp long enough for people to recognize who he was. They were also only two men, amidst an army that had turned on each other. They didn't want to fight, they only wanted to escape. So no one paid them much attention.

By the time they had reached the wooded area that Theon's companion had been trying to get them to, they were both exhausted. Once the stranger had led them into the trees and he was satisfied that they were far enough within the shadows, that they couldn't be spotted, he brought them to a stop. "We should rest here, my lord." The man said. "There's only a few hours before dawn and we'll want to continue traveling before first light."

It was a moment before Theon could find his voice. His mind seemed to still be back at the Twins. "Okay." Was all he could manage.

The were both quiet for a long time after that short exchange. They had seated themselves on the ground, knowing that they wouldn't be able to sleep, but that they had to conserve their energy. Now that they had come to a rest, he felt the full pain of the injuries he had sustained while he fought the Frey men. But they were nothing compared to what he was going through mentally. Theon struggled to clear his mind. He didn't want to think about what he had lost, so he tried to think about nothing at all. It seemed to work for a while and then a brief memory of Robb and him as boys in Winterfell's practice yard, fighting each other with sticks, would come to him. He would let the memory play until he couldn't stand it any longer. Then he would force his mind to go blank. Only to have another memory pop up in its place. This time it was when Arya first approached him about teaching her to use a bow and arrow properly. And how eventually it resorted to her begging him. That had been the start of it all. The memory made his heart ache. He couldn't stand the silence and the memories it was bringing to him.

"I don't think I caught your name." Theon finally said.

"It's Olyvar, my lord." came the tired reply..

"Theon, just call me Theon. You saved my life, probably more than once tonight, I don't think you have to be so formal." He paused a moment, for some reason something bothered him, and he wasn't quite sure what it was. It took him a few seconds before it hit him. "How did you know I was highborn?"

There was silence for a moment, "Your clothing, I suppose, too fine cut for the small folk, and the way you fight, I knew you had castle training."

"Oh." But even in Theon's state of mind, he could tell it wasn't the full answer. That this Olyvar was hiding something. He would leave it for the time being, if the man had wanted Theon dead, he had plenty of opportunities to make it happen.

They talked quietly after that, about where they were going to go and what their next move would be, and before long a faint grey light started to creep into the sky. "We should get going." Olyvar commented once he noticed. "They'll probably be sending off search parties to look for stragglers. We don't want to be caught."

They had begun to pick themselves off the ground still weary from the night before. Theon had been just about to pick up his sword, contemplating about what he was going to do with it since he had no sheath, when both men were startled by a figure that had slipped from the shadows of the trees that surrounded them. However it only took seconds for Theon to recognize what it was. "Nymeria?"

The wolf whined as she walked up close to Theon, nudging his hand lightly. Then she turned and started back the way she had came, stopped and looked back expectantly at him. He realized she wanted him to follow her, that was when hope started to flood into his heart. Was it possible that Nymeria could lead him to Arya? Without so much as a word to Olyvar, he started after the wolf. He had left his sword behind as well, nothing at that moment held any significance to him other then the fact that Arya might be alright.

It didn't take long for Nymeria to lead him back where her master was. He stopped short when he saw her sitting beneath the tree, her knees pulled up, her right arm laid across them as her forehead rested atop the arm so that her face was down and hidden from view. Her left arm down at her side, he saw that her hand gripped Needle. His heart ached at knowing the trauma she must have gone through and yet it soared at the same time, knowing that she was still alive.

"Arya," he called out as quietly. He didn't want to startle her. When she didn't respond he thought she must not have heard him and he took a few steps closer, calling her name again, "Arya." When he reached her, and she still hadn't responded to him, he grew concerned. He knelt down in front of her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

His touch must have awoken her, because almost immediately she jumped into action. She straightened her back to a fully upright position, her knees stayed where they were but her arm dropped to her side and her other hand lifted Needle so that it pointed at Theon's throat. Her eyes were wide and wild. It looked like she was coming out of a daze.

It took a beat for Theon to realize that she didn't recognize that it was him. She seemed to be in shock and had lashed out on impulse. If he wasn't careful, she would stab him. "It's just me," he pleaded gently. "Arya…"

Him saying her name that last time seemed to have jarred her out of her shock. She blinked her eyes as she came back into awareness. She seemed to drink him in as she looked up at him. "Theon?" Before he could do anything to respond, she pulled the sword away from his throat and dropped it beside her. Then shifted so that she rested on her knees and threw her arms around him, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

Theon wrapped one arm around her waist, and his other hand tangled into her hair as it cradled the back of her head. The arm around her waist tightened its hold when he felt her body start to shudder as if she was sobbing. He didn't know what he could say to calm her. He couldn't lie to her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He wasn't sure anything would ever be okay again. So he did the only thing he could do, he held her.

After a few moments, Arya lifted her head so she could look at him, her eyes still shining with tears. "I thought you were dead. I saw Roose Bolton's men cut down so many of Robb's men. I was scared they might have gotten you too." She said simply.

"I know, but I'm here now." He answered. "I thought I lost you too. I wasn't sure what the Frey's were going to do to you when everything started."

"The Frey's." She didn't sound surprised and her voice sounded hollow, "so they did have a part to play in all of this."

Theon nodded his head, not knowing what else to say. He was reluctant to let her go, he was afraid that if he did she would disappear. But he knew that they had to go, it was a risk staying here much longer. He took a few seconds to look her over, to reassure himself that she was really there. He still made no move to pull away from her, when he spoke again. "We should go."

Arya nodded her head, but it seemed like she was just as resistant to breaking physical contact as he was. However, something behind him must have caught her eye, because she jerked away from him and hopped to her feet. "Who are you?" She demanded, Theon could tell she was trying to stay in control of her emotions, but he could tell there was a slight tinge of panic in her voice.

Theon, still on his knees craned his neck to look behind him, relieved to see it was only Olyvar. He had almost forgotten about him. He picked himself up off his knees and placed his hands on Arya's shoulders, so she would bring her attention back to him. "It's okay Arya, he's a friend."

"He's right, Lady Arya." Olyvar said as he stepped closer to the couple, hands up to show that he meant no harm. "I only want to help."

She kept her eyes on Theon for a moment. He could tell that she was struggling, he knew she trusted him, but it was going to be hard for her to trust anyone who was a stranger. "He saved my life." Theon reassured her, and he could feel her shoulders release a little bit of tension.

"Oh," was all she said as she took her gaze from Theon and looked to Olyvar. She wasn't ready to trust him completely, but she would accept Theon's judgement for now.

"Good." Theon said as he let his hands fall from her shoulders. The lack of physical contact didn't last long, as he grabbed her right hand. He gripped it tightly, as if he was telling her he had no intention of letting her go any time soon. "He says his name is Olyvar. It seems he's figured out who you were already."

Olyvar offered her a bow, "my lady." He said in the form of a greeting.

For a moment Arya said nothing, her brow furrowed slightly. Finally she asked, "how did you know who I was?"

"The wolf mostly. I knew that King Robb's siblings had wolves, the same as he did. I also knew you were supposed to be at the Twins. It wasn't so hard to leap to conclusions." Olyvar explained. "And last night, Theon seemed so desperate to reach you, that when I witnessed your reunion I figured it could only be you."

"I tried to get to both you and Robb." Theon explained. "I was outside when everything started. I was able to free Grey Wind, and then we had to fight our way to the keep's doors. Walder Frey had them barred, we couldn't get through." There was a hint of regret in his voice.

Arya looked to Theon, "but Robb could have gotten out, my mother too?" She hadn't realized that there was a hope that had ignited within her when Theon found her. A hope that her family might have been able to escape too, that they were still out there alive.

"I don't think so, my lady." Olyvar voice was quiet.

"But Grey Wind isn't with you." Arya tried to reason. "He must have found Robb."

Theon squeezed Arya's hand, "Grey Wind was killed. He died trying to get to your brother."

"That doesn't mean Robb is dead. Or my mother!" She said stubbornly, although the tone of her voice raised a little in panic.

"Those doors wouldn't have been barred if Walder Frey wasn't certain that his plan wouldn't succeed." Olyvar insisted.

"Why? How do you know?" Arya demanded. "What makes you so certain?"

Olyvar remained silent for a moment, as if he wasn't sure how to respond to that. That alone was enough to make Theon suspicious. He had already suspected that Olyvar was hiding something, now his silence just seemed to confirm it. An uncomfortable tension seemed to settle in around the three of them. Theon took a step forward, ready to stand between Arya and Olyvar just in case he had to defend her. "Yes, why are you so certain?" Theon asked.

Arya looked down to where she had dropped Needle, wondering how long it would take for her to snatch it off the ground. Olyvar noticed where her eyes lingered. He realized he needed to do or say something to defuse the situation. The first thing he did was unslung his bow and held it out for Theon to take so that he would be unarmed. He knew that they would not be happy with what he had to say and that any trust he might have had with Theon would be lost. "Because I know my father well enough to know that he may be a coward, but he's also careful and he's not stupid. I also knew what he had planned."

It took a second or two for Theon to fit the pieces together. Once he did, he snatched the weapon from Olyvar's hands. It all made sense now, how Olyvar seemed to know that he was noble born. He probably even knew who Theon was, when he had saved him at the Twins. He had known who Arya was. He had known the area enough to bring Theon to a place where Theon thought he would be safe. The look on his face hardened as he realized that the man who had been so helpful to him turned out to be an enemy. "You lied to me." His voice was even, but his anger was evident.

"I didn't lie to you." Olyvar said calmly. "My name is Olyvar, I just didn't tell you I was of house Frey. I may be Walder Frey's son, but I was loyal to your brother." He said looking to Arya, then he looked to Theon, "why do you think Grey Wind didn't attack me when I first approached you? He knew who I was. Don't forget I also killed several of my father's men last night."

Arya let go of Theon's hand and moved to pick up her sword. Then she turned and pointed it threateningly at Olyvar. "Why should we believe you, the son of a traitor and a man who violated the guest right? How many of your father's men are surrounding us right now?"

"None that I know of right now." Olyvar answered pleadingly. "But if we stay her any longer that could change. They'll have realized that you're gone by now, they'll be looking for the both of you. Look," he slipped out the quiver of arrows from his back and handed them to Theon as well. "Let me help you, please. I couldn't help Robb, but I can help you, my lady. I'll even do so unarmed if it makes you more comfortable."

Taking the arrows from Olyvar, Theon asked skeptically, "you said that you knew what your father had planned and you were close enough to Robb that Grey Wind knew who you were, why didn't you warn him?"

"I squired for him, before he married." Olyvar started to explain. "When he broke the marriage contract with my father, I was called back to the Twins with the rest of my father's men. I didn't want to go, but my brothers who were with King Robb's army forced me to leave. Then when Robb offered to repair the damage he had done to the relationship between himself and the Frey's, I was confident that things would go back to the way they were. But then, as the day of my sister's wedding to Edumre Tully neared, my father decided to send me out on patrol duty, he claimed there were some bandits harassing some of the people he was sworn to protect. He sent some of my older brothers to look after me. I was suspicious, I was curious as to why I was being sent away."

"He guessed where your true loyalties were?" Theon asked, obviously not yet convinced by what Olyvar was saying.

Olyvar didn't blame them for not believing him, but he continued. "While I was on this patrol duty I kept my eyes and ears open. One night I heard my brothers discussing what was going to happen soon at the Twins. That my father was going to get back at Robb Stark for breaking a vow. That the wedding of Roslin and Edmure would be memorable, that it would mark the end of the war. That the Lannisters would owe the Freys much if they succeeded in killing the King of the North. They didn't go into too many details, probably because they didn't know the full plan. But it was enough for me to realize that I had to warn Robb. I snuck away from my brothers and the men who came with us that same night. When I got to the Twins it was already too late. I was trying to get to where I knew Robb would be when I came across Theon and Grey Wind. When I realized the doors were barred, I knew that Robb Stark was either already dead or he was going to be very soon, and there was nothing I could do to change that. My father made sure Robb couldn't get out, and none of Robb's men could get in. He made sure Robb was an easy target."

"My mother?" Arya asked, she was trying very hard to keep her voice even.

"She could still be alive, I don't know. There would be no real reason why they would kill her. Maybe they kept her as hostage." Olyvar answered.

"What about Queen Talisia?" Theon asked

Olyvar paused here for a moment, "I don't know what was supposed to happen to her. I fear she might have faced the same fate as Robb. If there had been any possibility that she could have been with child, they would have felt the need to kill her. If Robb Stark had an heir, he or she would have been a threat."

"Was she with child?" Arya asked harshly.

"I don't know, but I doubt it would have mattered. They would have wanted to err on the side of caution." Olyvar responded.

"So she's probably dead as well." Frowned Theon. There was so much more that they had to discuss, like what Roose Bolton's role in all of this was, but as the day started to get lighter, he was feeling more and more vulnerable. He needed to get Arya further away from the Twins, he wasn't about to risk her so soon after he had found her again. He placed the quiver of arrows that he had taken from Olyvar over his shoulders. Then he placed a hand on Arya's arm, signaling her to lower her sword.

She gave him a perplexed look, but she slowly lowered her arm. Then Theon looked to Olyvar and said in all seriousness, "I'm not saying I trust you. I just know that we need to move if we're going to make it through the next few hours. I don't know the Riverlands and you do and we need a guide. If you make one move I don't like, or if I think you're going to make a move I don't like. I will kill you."

"The same goes for me." Arya said.

Olyvar heard a loud growl from behind him. He figured that must have been Nymeria giving him the same warning. Still he felt relieved knowing that he might have a chance to make up for not having saved Robb. "You'll see I mean you no harm. We need a place we can rest, I know of an Inn not too far from here where the owner is more loyal to the Tully's than to my father." With that he started off, knowing that the two of them had no choice but to follow him.


	18. Chapter 18

The inn that Olyvar had told them would be a safe haven proved to be that and so much more. He had not been wrong when he had said the owner's sympathies lay with the Tully's and by extension the Stark cause. Stories of what had happened the previous night at the Twins had started to spread. The innkeeper had heard how the Frey's had violated the guest right and was more than happy to help anyone who had Tully ties.

They weren't stupid. They didn't tell those at the inn who they really were and neglected to give anyone their names. They had learned that men were already looking for the youngest Stark girl and Theon Greyjoy. But they did come up with a story where Arya and Theon posed as a married couple. Theon's role was that of a soldier who had fought for Robb Stark's army under the Tully banner, Arya had followed him to war and had worked as a cook within the camp. They told the innkeep that they had managed to escape the massacre from the night before with Olyvar's help and that they were now trying to find their way back to their home near Fairmarket. The story, as flimsy as it was, must have been believable enough because the man offered his hospitality almost immediately.

The first things the innkeeper offered them was a chance to clean up and a hot meal, which was more than welcome considering it was the first thing they had eaten all day. He had also managed to scrounge up new clothing for each of them, much to their relief they would be able to throw away the dirtied and blood soiled clothing that only served as a reminder of what had happened at the Twins. Arya was especially delighted that she wouldn't have to deal with a dress anymore, as she was given the same style clothing that Theon and Olyvar were given. Arya had been the first to change her clothing in the small room that the innkeeper had kindly told Arya and Theon that they could use for the night. Olyvar would be welcome to sleep on a bench in the common room as the innkeeper couldn't spare two rooms. All the man asked in return was for them to do a few odds and ends around the inn before they left the next day. Everything seemed to be going right, which is why Arya didn't trust it.

That distrust continued to extend to Olyvar, even though he had gotten them to a place that seemed safe. She found herself sitting in the inn's kitchen alone with him after she had changed her clothing. The innkeeper's wife had stepped outside to take care of something and the innkeeper himself was tending to the other patrons in the common room. Theon had left the kitchen to go change his clothing and tend to his injuries. This left her to keep an eye on Olyvar. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Haven't I proven myself to you yet?" He hissed after he gave a furtive glance to make sure they truly were alone.

Arya shrugged, and then whispered. "you've proven yourself helpful. I'll give you that. That doesn't mean you won't betray us the moment it's convenient to you."

He seemed frustrated by her lack of faith in him, "I realize I cannot say anything that will erase what my father has done. But know that I have no loyalty toward that man, I no longer call him father. I gave a vow to serve your brother, now I'm choosing to extend that same vow to you, and to him." He said nodding his head in the direction that Theon had gone, careful not to use any names just in case someone did happen to over hear. He looked like he wanted to say more but at that moment the inn keeper's wife chose to come back in.

"I hope what you say is true," Arya said neutrally.

It was Olyvar's time to shrug. "I can only give you my word. I know you probably want to discuss the situation with your husband. I'll let you do that without my interference." With that he stood up slowly. "I promise I won't stray far, but I'm going to see if I can do anything to help our hosts." He didn't wait for her to respond before he slipped out of the kitchen and into the common room so he could talk with the innkeeper.

She watched him go, wondering if this was the moment he would choose betray them. Despite her suspicions, she would take opportunity to talk with the only person she trusted at the moment. She stood up and slipped out of the kitchen and followed Olyvar into the common room. She cast a glance toward him, and saw that he did indeed, seem to be offering to help around the inn for the rest of the evening. The inn keeper was motioning toward the large fire place and Arya realized he must have been asking Olyvar to fetch fire wood. As Olyvar was making his way towards the inn's entrance, she turned to the stairs and quickly climbed them before anyone took any notice of her. When she reached the door of the room she would share with her 'husband' she knocked and waited for a reply. She was answered with a string of curses and she frowned slightly at the door.

"It's me." She didn't use any names, and simply called, "I'm coming in," before unlatching the door. When she pushed the door open she was greeted by the sight of a shirtless Theon, who was holding a bottle of what appeared to be some sort of herbal remedy for cleaning wounds, no doubt provided by the helpful innkeep. She could only assume that he was trying to clean the sword cut on his shoulder by himself. Her first impulse was to roll her eyes in exasperation as she let the door close behind her. Of course he wouldn't ask anyone for help. She walked over to him, taking the bottle from his hand. "Here, let me help you."

Theon looked at her, not bothering to hide his surprise by her being there. "Where is Olyvar?" He asked as she rested her hand on his bare arm and started to lead him to the lone stool in the room.

"Sit," she commanded him. Then answered him blandly. "He's fetching fire wood."

He sat down so that his back was to her. "You trust him enough to let him out of your sight?"

"No." Arya said unhappily, "but I didn't see that I had much of an option. I wanted a chance to talk to you without him around." She peered down at the wounded shoulder, squinting slightly in the fading light. She frowned when she saw how bad it looked. The cut was deep and the area looked bruise. She hoped that it looked worse then what it was.

"Don't worry," he said trying to reassure her. "I'm sure Nymeria is keeping an eye on him from her hiding place in the woods. If he does anything that seems suspicious she'll take care of it."

"I suppose you're right." She answered distractedly. She cast a glance around the room and noticed a small stack of bandages and a pile of clean rags lying on the bed. She reached for one of the rags with her free hand. "This is probably going to sting." Her tone was apologetic. Then tipped the bottle over the wound and let the disinfecting liquid spill directly on the cut. She used the rag to catch any excess medicine that fell down his back.

He hissed in pain and then with a grimace said, "gods that burns."

"I warned you." She said with a shrug as she put down the bottle on a the table that stood at the side of the bed along with the cloth. "Sorry, my touch might not be as gentle as a maester's" She said blandly as she leaned to inspect the wound once more to see if it it was clean. It was hard to tell just how clean it was in the dim light, but she couldn't see any visible dirt or debris in in the cut, so she was satisfied with her work. She would make sure to check again in the morning when there would be enough light to see properly. She let the tips of her fingers brush lightly over the bruise that had accompanied the cut. "How badly does it hurt? You probably should have it stitched up, but you know my skill with an actual needle isn't very good. Do you think you can just get by with bandages for now?"

"I'll be fine." He muttered taking a few moments to relish in fingertips on his bare skin. "Your touch is gentle enough." He said with a sigh. He paused a moment then spoke up again. "How are you doing?" He had been wanting to ask her that since she had entered the room, but she seemed intent on taking care of him first and selfishly he let her do so.

"I only have a few cuts and bruises. I've had worse training with Syrio." She knew that he wasn't asking about how she felt physically, but she wasn't ready to go into how she was feeling mentally. She reached for the bandages, but before she could pick them up, he rested a hand on her wrist to stop her.

"That's not what I asked." He let go of her wrist and then turned on the stool so he was facing her. He looked up at her so that she could really look into his eyes.

When their eyes met, she felt her resolve to hold back all that she was feeling start to crumble. She saw the anguish and anger he was feeling in his gaze. She knew then that he felt exactly how she did, only he didn't seem to be afraid of showing his emotions. "I…" She seemed to loose her train of thought under that intense gaze of his. "I can't let myself think about what happened to Robb, or about what might have happened to my mother."

"Why?" His voice was hushed as he kept his eyes trained up at her.

"Because thinking about that means I have to face the possibility that my entire family might be dead." She said bitterly. "I have no where to go. There is no safe place for me."

"Hey," he said gently as he raised his hands to her waist pulling her closer to him as he stood up. Now he had to look down at her. "Aren't you jumping to conclusions. Bran and Rickon, they're still safely at Winterfell."

"You cannot honestly believe that." Arya said looking up at him. "Winterfell is probably the second most dangerous place for a Stark to be right now. When you told me what happened to you last night, you said you heard The Rains of Castamere, that it seemed like it was some sort of signal. It gives me the idea that the Lannisters pulled the strings for all of this to happen. They used Walder Frey and Roose Bolton to do their dirty work. They couldn't defeat my brother fairly so they used treachery. That also means they must have offered Walder and Roose some pretty large rewards for doing so. What do you think Lord Bolton got out of the deal?"

Theon frowned as he realized where her reasoning was going and he couldn't deny that it made perfect sense. "The North." He said simply.

"The North." She affirmed. "And for the most part, the Northern houses are very loyal to the Starks, you know that. If there's still a Stark alive, Lord Bolton will have an awfully hard time exerting his power. And let us not forget that when we left Winterfell, Ramsay Snow was still there. I doubt he ever left to go to Moat Cailin."

"They could have gotten away." Theon said quietly. "I made plans for them to escape. You have to have some hope, Little Wolf."

"You know what The Rains of Castamere, is about, Theon." Arya said softly and he could hear the despair in her voice. "It's about the extinction of House Reyne, about how Tywin Lannister destroyed that house just so he could prove just how dominant the Lannisters are. These people… all of them, the Lannisters, the Boltons, the Frey's, they want the Starks dead." She didn't try to stop the tears that she felt welling up within her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to calm her down. "Shh. We don't know if any of what you are thinking about actually happened. Maester Luwin is smart, he might have figured something was amiss in time to get them out. Bran and Rickon have a whole host of people loyal to them to make sure that they are safe. The Reeds, that Osha woman, Syrio, all of them skilled enough to protect your brothers. Even my sister might have helped if it meant she got away from Ramsay Snow. Just don't lose hope, please." He pleaded with her. "And your mother, we don't know if she is dead. Sansa is most likely safe too. She would probably be considered the key to the North right now. They wouldn't dare kill her." He tried to push away the thought that his own sister was at Winterfell and probably in almost as much danger as the Starks were. If something happened to her it would be his fault for allowing Robb to keep her prisoner. He couldn't say that he felt like anything akin to love for Yara, but still she was his family and wouldn't wish her dead or in the hands of that bastard.

She allowed herself only a few moments to cry as she buried her face within Theon's chest. She would have been afraid that she would lose herself in grief and fear if it wasn't for the fact that she felt a sense of safety just being in his arms. She was able to calm herself much faster then she would have been able to if she had been alone. "I don't know if I have it in me to hope for the best." She said in a hoarse whisper.

"I'll help you." He said gently, "you're not in this alone. We'll figure this out. We could always find our way North to find out about your brothers."

She lifted her head up form his chest so she could look at him and let out a dark chuckle. "That sounds dangerous."

He quirked an eyebrow, "it can't be any more so than the situation we're in right now. We have men looking for us from the Twins to Riverrun. And we're entrusting our lives to a man who's father betrayed and murdered your brother."

"I don't like having to trust Olyvar." Arya said.

"I know." Theon agreed. "But if he's telling us the truth, and he really was loyal to Robb, then that means he's turning his back on his family by helping us. And he'll have no where else to go, same as us. Besides I kind of know what it means to defy your family to help the Starks. We cannot turn our back on him."

"You have a point." She answered grudgingly. Then reluctantly pulled away from the warmth his embrace offered her. "Sit back down. I have to finish bandaging you." She waited for him to do as she said and then picked up the bandages. Without a word she set to work and remained quiet for a few moments. "About going North," she finally spoke up. "I'm not sure it would be a good idea to go there."

"Why not?"

"The Bolton's might expect me to try to get back to Winterfell." Arya said as she concentrated on securing the bandage.

"True. Then I take it you don't want to go to Riverrun either. The Frey's would expect that." He said thoughtfully. He had a feeling that she had a plan as to where she wanted to go. The question was where. "Are you thinking of going to the Eyrie, to your Aunt Lysa. The Vale was noticeably absent in the war. They might not suspect you to head in that direction."

"No," she said quietly.

"Not Pyke?" Theon asked with a note of exasperation, "because that would be an even worse idea then going North. My father would not welcome us-"

"Of course not, I'm not stupid." She answered with a hint of annoyance as she finished up with the bandages. "There you're done."

"Then where, Little Wolf?" He asked as she stood up. He reached for the fresh shirt he had been given and slipped it over his head. Then turned to her with an expectant look.

"King's Landing." She couldn't even bring herself to look at him when she said this, she knew what his reaction would be.

"You want to go in to the lion's den?" He asked her incredulously. "Why in the Seven Hells would you want to do that?"

"Sansa." She said as if it was the only obvious answer. "She could be all the family I have left. And if she's alive, who knows what fresh tortures they're going to throw her way. You said it yourself she's the key to the North. If they think she's the only Stark alive, then they'll marry her off to some gods awful Lord who is blatantly loyal to the Crown. Maybe Roose Bolton himself. That would get the Northern Lords to fall in line, wouldn't it?"

"You think that we can just walk into Red Keep and steal away with her? How do you think we're going to do that? There's only two of us, three if you're willing to count Olyvar." He asked looking to her expectantly.

"I don't know." She admitted. "But we can come up with something on the way there. And you can't tell me that they would expect us head in that direction."

"If they knew how brash you could be at times, they might expect it." He muttered.

"Theon, you promised me." She pleaded. "Months ago, you promised that if things got worse, you would go with me to King's Landing. Wouldn't you say things are worse?"

She would of course remember that particular promise he had made her. He let out a deep sigh and then took a step towards her. "Let's both sleep on this. Maybe after we get some rest our heads will clear and we can decide rationally." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Okay?"

She frowned, knowing that that would be the best answer she would receive from him. "Okay." She agreed, but she wasn't going to back down on this. He probably knew that too, and he also knew how stubborn she could be.

They were just about to leave the room when Olyvar pushed his way inside. He seemed to be a bit frantic. When he saw that the two of them were within the room, he seemed to relax slightly. He turned to the door and made sure it was locked. Then looked back to the Arya and Theon.

"What's going on?" Asked Theon, darkly, he realized that something was wrong the moment the young man entered the room.

"Men at arms from the Twins are here, I saw some of Lord Bolton's men too." He explained to them in a voice that told Arya and Theon that Olyvar was trying to remain calm. "They're looking for the two of you."

Instinctively, Arya reached for Needle's hilt and the first thought that came to her mind was an accusation leveled at Olyvar, "are they here because of you? Did you send for them?"

That seemed to snap him out of his panic, as cast an annoyed glance in her direction. "If I did, don't you think I would have come up here with several of those men right behind me." He was clearly exasperated that she was still suspicious of him, even if he could understand why.

Arya was about to answer him, but Theon was able to intervene before she managed to further insult him. He raised hand and rested it on Arya's hand to keep her from drawing her sword. "Why don't you let him explain before we decide if he's betrayed us." He said diplomatically to Arya, then looked expectantly to Olyvar. Once he was convinced that she wouldn't resort to violence he pulled his hand away from hers.

"Right." Olyvar nodded as he took a seat on the stool that Theon had been setting on earlier. He seemed to be collecting his thoughts as Arya and Theon both sat down on the bed. Once it seemed like everyone was settled, he began, "I don't think they came here knowing that the two of you were here. They just came in asking the innkeeper if he'd seen Arya Stark, Theon Greyjoy, or Brynden Tully and then proceeded to give a fairly detailed description of the two of you and Brynden."

"They're looking for my Mother's uncle?" There was a small amount of hopefulness in Arya's voice when she asked the question.

Olyvar nodded his head. "It appears the Blackfish has slipped through Walder and Roose's fingers too."

"Anyone else?" Arya asked, eager for any information she could get.

There was a sadness in his voice when Olyvar answered her. "I'm sorry, they only mentioned that they were looking for the two of you and Brynden. They seem to think the two of you might be traveling with him. They said that Roose Bolton was fairly eager to find all of you, especially Arya for some reason. He's offered a sizable reward."

"Did any of the men there recognize you?" Theon asked seriously. He had to figure out just how much damage had been done and if he should risk leaving the room to try and get himself and Arya out of the inn.

Olyvar shook his head. "I doubt they noticed me at all. I was doing manual labor so they probably figured I work for the inn. They didn't even glance my way when they announced why they were there. Even if they could recognize me as a Frey, my father has enough true born and baseborn children running around the Riverlands that nobody would be suspicious of me. They would have no reason to think me a traitor."

"Do you think they'll search the inn?" Another question from Theon. "If you knew that this inn sympathized with the Tully's, it would stand to reason that they know that too."

"I don't think so. I got the feeling they didn't really expect to find you here. That they were just going through the motions. They just used the search as an excuse to stop for some food and ale before they continued on in the morning," Olyvar answered.

"So they'll be staying the night?" Arya asked grimly.

"It seemed that way," agreed Olyvar. He let out a small sigh, the next part would only serve to make the other two even more nervous. "I think the innkeeper might have figured out who the two of you are." He said quietly then rushed to add. "But I don't think you have to worry about him telling those men."

"Did he tell you that he knew who we were?" Arya asked, she hated how her voice seemed to have a slight tinge of panic to it.

"No," Olyvar tried to sound reassuring. "After the men had finished talking with the innkeeper, he pulled me aside and told me to come up here and tell you two to stay put and keep out of sight. And to lock your door. We didn't exactly give him a very inventive story about who the two of you were. He probably even knew who you were as soon as we showed up at his doorstep. I don't think he means to turn you over, even with how much coin they are offering."

"We don't really have a choice but to trust that this innkeeper will keep his mouth shut." Theon said not happy that he had to put his and Arya's life in the hands of a stranger…again.

"It would seem that way." Olyvar agreed. "But I do think we can trust him. He was genuinely appalled by what my father did to your brother," he said as he looked to Arya. "This man, he's giving you shelter, he gave you food and he's offered you his protection. He's not going to go against the guest right. Decent people wouldn't make you go through that again. And he and his wife seem decent. If you stay in this room and don't draw attention to yourselves, you should remain safe until they leave. They have no reason to believe you are here."

Arya numbly nodded her head. Theon could tell by the look in her eye that she was close to panic. She probably felt just as trapped as he did. Their safe haven had seemingly turned into a prison, at least for the night. He let out a small sigh, "we'll stay here. We won't do anything stupid."

Olyvar nodded, "I'll stick to the original plan and sleep on one of the benches down in the common room. No one is looking for me, so I should be safe enough. It will give me a chance to keep an eye on my father's and Lord Bolton's men. If I see anything suspicious I'll come tell you about it." With that said he stood up. "Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to learn something useful from them if I eavesdrop on their conversations."

Theon stood up too, not liking the fact that their little group would be separated. Despite himself he was starting to trust Olyvar. He had the most obvious of opportunities to betray them when those men entered the inn and he chose not to do so. "Just be careful." He said.

"I will." Olyvar reassured. "You too, and lock the door behind me. I'll come get you in the morning when they are gone."

Theon just nodded and then watched Olyvar leave. He quickly moved to the door and locked it with ease, then turned his attention back to Arya. "Are you okay?"

"What do you think?" She answered him with a question.

"I think you need sleep." He knew she wasn't okay. He knew she was the furthest thing from okay. She hadn't been given the proper time to mourn the loss of her brother and possibly her mother. They still had no definitive news on Lady Catelyn. Add that to her believing that something bad might have happened to her youngest brothers, it was a wonder she wasn't a complete wreck. And she was still worried about Sansa. Not to mention that she probably felt trapped within the four walls of this very room.

"Do you really think I'll be able to get any sleep?" Arya asked him with a mixture of dark amusement and disbelief.

"Honestly, I think we'll both be able to sleep." Theon said with a hint of confidence. "We got no sleep sleep last night and we walked most of the day today. We're exhausted. So, since we have nothing better to do, we are going to use this time to rest." He moved back over to the bed and knelt in front of her. He leaned down lifted her leg and slipped off one of her boots, then did the same with her other leg, and straightened back up before he started talking again. "That door is locked, and we will hear if someone tries to open that door and we will wake up in time to try and fight them off." He brought his eyes up to look intently at her. "And I swear to you Arya Stark that I will put up one hell of a fight before I let anyone take you away from me again." With that said, he moved to take off her sword belt and slipped Needle off her waist and then set it down on the floor beside the bed so it would be within easy reach should she need it.

She sat there silently for a minute before she took his hands in hers and leaned forward so her forehead rested against his. She closed her eyes and said in a whisper. "I'm not going to let them take you away from me either."

They sat there like that for a few seconds, being this intimate with each other seemed to help calm them. Finally he extracted his hands from hers. He pulled his head away from hers so their foreheads no longer touched. With her eyes still closed he kissed her gently on the lips. She had been the one to deepen the kiss when she moved her arms to pull him into an embrace. He responded in kind by lifting himself off the floor and moving her gently so that she was lying on the bed with him hovering over her all with out breaking the kiss.

Needing to feel the warmth of his body next to hers, Arya moved her hands to his shoulders, ready to pull him closer, when he broke the kiss and let out hiss of pain. She had managed to grasp too tightly to his injured shoulder. That seemed to bring them both of them back to their senses. She looked up at him with shock. "I'm sorry."

He had the same look of shock as the realization settled in as to what they had been about to do. "No, it's okay." He pulled himself away from her and allowed himself to fall on the bed next to her. "I'm sorry I let that get a little out of hand."

She turned her head to look at him. "I wouldn't have regretted it, you know."

"I wouldn't have either." He assured her. "But the timing isn't right. I mean there is a room full of enemies just down the stairs." He was trying to make light of the situation.

"I know." She said quietly. Then added trying to match the tone of his banter, "but it would have been an awful good distraction."

He sat up and she followed suit. Both of them taking a moment to calm themselves down. Finally he kicked off his own boots and situated himself on the bed, with his arms open to her. "Come on, let's get some sleep." Without a word she crawled in his arms and he wrapped them protectively around her. "Good night, Little Wolf."

"Good night, Theon." She said, her heart still beating a little faster than it should.


	19. Chapter 19

Arya was the first to awaken the next morning. It was early and the light that came through the window was still only a pale grey. Theon's arms were still wrapped loosely around her, they must have stayed there the whole night. She allowed herself the indulgence of staying within the warmth he provided her for just a few more moments. The sense of security she felt at being in his arms would disappear as soon as she pulled away and she knew she would have come back to reality. When she did try to slip away from him, Theon tightened his grip.

"Don't leave, you're keeping me warm." He murmured lightly in her ear.

She let a ghost of a smile flash across her features. "I don't want to get up either, but we don't have much choice in the matter." Reluctantly she extracted herself from him and sat up with a groan. The extended rest made her body ache after all the walking she had done the day before. She swung her feet down and leaned over to return her discarded boots to her feet.

"How did you sleep?" Theon asked, he still hadn't moved and when Arya craned her next to look back at him, she noticed he hadn't even opened his eyes yet.

"Better then I thought I would." She admitted.

He opened an eye to look at her and with a bit of smirk. "I told you, you would." With a begrudging sigh he started to lift himself to a sitting position, he was feeling achey too and his shoulder only added to his discomfort. "And the night proved to be a quiet one. It seems no one has given us away yet."

"Perhaps they were being polite and were letting us get our rest before they made their move." Arya said as she stood up and crossed to the small, lone window the room had been afforded. Looking outside she that there was a small amount of activity in the early morning light. It seemed that the inn's guests were getting ready to move on.

"You're always so pessimistic." He told her as he moved to put his boots on as well. "And you probably shouldn't linger by that window, you don't want to be noticed."

She scoffed, "I'll be fine, everyone out there seems to be too focused on what they're doing," but she still took a step back from the window, just in case. "How long do you think we'll have to stay up here? I'm eager to get away from this place."

"I know. I am too, I'm sure those men aren't the only ones that will make their stop here." He let out a cynical little chuckle, "of course, I'm not sure traveling will be any safer. I don't think they'll be giving up on looking for us anytime soon. But to answer your question, we probably won't have to wait too long. I'm sure they'll be eager to start their search again."

Arya let let out a small sigh, "Bolton and Frey men are going to be crawling all over the place, aren't they? It's going to take an extraordinary amount of luck for us to get out of the Riverlands without being caught, isn't it?"

Theon finally stood up after tying up his boots then stepped closer to her. He lifted his hand to brush a stray strand of her hair out of her face that must have come loose from her braid while they slept. He tucked it behind her ear before looking into her eyes seriously. "Yes, it probably will be difficult." He told her truthfully, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to give her a false sense of security. Her question had been more rhetorical than anything else. She was smart enough to realize just how dangerous their situation was. Yet still he wished to try and give her some sort of reassurance. "But we'll manage. We've kept ourselves alive so far."

"I guess." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't put much faith in our luck."

"Then let's not worry about luck." He said. "Let's just worry about getting through this one moment at a time. We're smart enough to know how to deal with whatever comes our way. It seems we're fairly good at surviving. I have faith in you, in Nymeria, and in Olyvar. We'll make our own luck."

Arya raised an eyebrow at him, "so you trust Olyvar now?"

"Yeah," he answered calmly. "He did save my life after all. And the fact that we are still standing here talking to each other and not being delivered into the hands of Walder Frey makes me believe he really is on our side."

"I guess I should give him credit for saving your life at least." She said quietly as she raised a hand to cup Theon's cheek. "Life would have been even more…" she struggled to find the right word, "difficult without you."

He didn't say anything, he just tilted his head lightly into her hand. He didn't really think that anything needed to be said. Those few hours when he had thought the worst had happened to Arya had been like a waking nightmare, so he knew exactly what she meant. They stayed that way, lost in each other's presence. They were startled out of their reverie when there was a knock at the door.

They jumped immediately into action. Arya bent over to pick up Needle from beside the bed and Theon looked around the room something, anything he could use as a weapon. The bow Olyvar had given him would not work in such close quarters. He grasped a heavy looking, iron candle stick. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do if they had to fight their way out of the room. Arya gripped Needle tightly as she made her way to the door, and then looked at Theon to see if he was ready. Without a word he nodded his head to show that he was.

"It's just me." Came a voice that had been muffled by the door. Arya recognized it as Olyvar's, her emotions were a mixture of relief and trepidation. She didn't know if he was there to give the all clear or if this was the moment he turned them over. Either way she knew they were about to find out. She unlatched the door and opened it just enough for her to peer through. He was alone.

"It's okay." Olyvar reassured as if he could read her mind. "I didn't reveal the two of you to them."

She nodded her head and then pulled the door open for him. She moved back to Theon's side. Olyvar had slipped in behind her and made sure to lock the door once more. When he turned to look at them he didn't bother with a greeting. "They'll be gone soon," he reported.

Arya let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, and returned Needle back to its sheath. Then took a moment to belt the sword at her side as Theon set the candle stick back down. "Do you know what way they plan on going?"

Olyvar nodded, "toward Riverrun. So once we have decided where we want to go, I should have a good idea of how we can avoid at least that patrol. But there's, going to be plenty more. At least that's the impression I got from what I overheard last night. Like I said, they are eager to find you."

They expected that news, so Theon spoke up. "Were you able to find out anything else?"

Olyvar looked from Theon, to Arya knowing that what he did find out would be difficult for the young Stark girl to hear.

"Just spit it out!" Arya hated that he knew something that would obviously upset her and that he seemed to be trying to protect her feelings. She doubted anything would be as horrible as what she had imagined might have happened to those she loved.

"They confirmed that your brother was killed along with his wife…" He told them quietly.

That wasn't news, she hadn't needed a confirmation to know that her brother was dead. It was painful to hear, yes, and there was even some regret felt at the news that Talisa was also dead. But she had started to accept that. No Olyvar had something else to tell her and she was quite certain that she knew what it was. "Go on," she said sharply.

"It's about your mother, my lady." Olyvar said. "They said Lady Catelyn had been killed too."

When he said those words everything went still, it must have been for only a few seconds, but for Arya it seemed to last a whole lot longer. Her heart hurt, there was no denying that. She realized that she was now forced to live in a world without her mother, father, and oldest brother. The odd thing was, that while she felt the pain of hearing the news of her mother's death, she wasn't surprised. Somewhere in her subconscious she must have realized that her mother was already dead, that there was no way Catelyn could have escaped what had happened at the Twins. So while she was grieving for Robb, she had also started to grieve for her mother, only she hadn't realized that until now.

She realized that both men were looking at her, waiting for her to show some kind of reaction. But the tears didn't come, she had already cried them when she wept for Robb. "I'm fine," she said carefully. She wasn't fine, even, Olyvar who didn't know her, knew she wasn't fine. But the pain was no more worse to bear then it had been before Olyvar had told her what she had already known. "Was there anything else?"

With a worried glance in Theon's direction, Olyvar wondered if he should continue. He noticed a concerned frown on the other young man's face, but he simply nodded his head to bid Olyvar to continue. Olyvar took a small sigh then continued. "It seems King Joffery has decided to marry your sister off to Tyrion Lannister."

"The Imp?" Arya asked darkly. "Why am I not surprised?" She looked pointedly at Theon.

"Aye, it would seem they now have ties to the North. The Lannisters would finally have a strong presence there." Theon said, his eyes full of concern as he looked to Arya. He knew she was trying to keep focused on anything other than the news of her mother, and that meant tackling another problem that had arisen. "It now makes sense why Roose Bolton is so desperate to find you. He needs a direct tie to the Starks too. He probably hopes to marry you himself, to rally the North behind him."

Arya shuddered in disgust. "That is not a pleasant thought."

"I don't think Roose Bolton wishes you to marry him. He married one of my father's granddaughters. Fat Walda, I heard her dowry was as large as she is. I was actually at that wedding." Olyvar informed them. "My guess would be that his plans include a marriage to his bastard boy. I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future, King Joffery legitimizes him."

"That thought is even worse." Arya's voice was cold. "I would kill myself before I let any of them touch me."

There was an edge to Theon's voice when he spoke. "Well, it's not something we have to worry about, because they aren't going to get their hands on you."

"But that vile Imp has his hands on Sansa." Arya looked at him with a determined look.

"Arya-" Theon started, hoping he could reason with her, he knew that after hearing this, paired with the confirmation of her mother's death, she would want to go to King's Landing more than ever.

But Arya interrupted him before he could get the words out. "No, I will not leave her to that fate."

"And if you managed to get inside the city, much less the Red Keep and they caught you?" He asked bitterly. "What fate would they have planned for you? I mean to keep you out of the hands of those who would use you to further their own agendas or who would hurt you."

"Where do you plan to keep me then?" She snapped. "We discussed this last night. We don't have many options."

"We could leave Westeros," he said helplessly knowing it was really the only option if they wanted complete safety. But he also knew it wouldn't be what she would want to do. Her home was here.

"And leave what little family I have left in the hands of those who have murdered the rest of my the family?" Arya responded. "We still don't know about Bran and Rickon." She turned her attention to Olyvar who quietly stayed out of their discussion. "Did they say anything about my brothers, about Winterfell?"

"I'm sorry my lady, they they did not." He answered.

"I cannot help but think the worst until I find out for sure about them and it isn't safe for us to go North. What if we go there only to find out that the worst has happened. I would only be further away from the one family member I knew was living. I know where Sansa is, I know it isn't safe to go to King's Landing. But at least I know she's there, alive." Arya looked to Theon with a pleading look.

"But if we went North," Theon tried to reason with her, "there are Northern lords who would protect you. And Jon, he's at the Wall, we could even go there. North just seems the better choice. The safer choice."

"Do you think Jon's Night Watch would take us in? They wouldn't let us stay their indefinitely, no matter how much Jon would want it." Arya replied. "And how safe would it be if we did take refuge with one of the Northern Families. What do you think would happen if the Boltons got wind that someone was protecting us? If we went North, it would just be the least dangerous choice of all the places we could go."

"And you're asking us to go to one of the most dangerous places." Theon pointed out.

"I know." Arya said quietly. "I will go alone, you don't have to come with me. I almost don't want you to come. " Her words held no hint of threat to them. She was not saying this to be cruel or hurtful. She reached for Theon's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She was fully aware that going after Sansa could mean death for her. For anyone who went with her. She wanted to protect Theon just as much as he wanted to protect her. She felt like she had to go to King's Landing and she would go, even if that meant leaving Theon behind if only to keep him safe. "You could go back to Pyke, you are your father's heir, perhaps he would be forgiving. You could be safe there."

"No, I wouldn't." He told her seriously. He fully understood what she was trying to do. "The Iron Islands breed hard men, and from what I remember of him, my father is no exception. I have no doubt he considers me lost to him. I cannot go home." He paused as he fixed her with a serious look. "And you're a fool to think I'd let you do something this stupid alone. You can't get rid of me this easily."

"So you'll go with me?" Arya asked.

"I'll go." Theon assured her.

Arya looked over to Olyvar, who seemed to be watching the whole exchange curiously. "I could understand if you chose to take your leave now. The next few months could be unpleasant for us. And as much as I hate to admit it, you being a Frey and all, you have already done so much for us. I do thank you for that. I wouldn't ask you to come with us."

"With all do respect, my lady," Olyvar answered with an air of seriousness.. "I made a vow to your brother. If you remember from yesterday, I told you I extended that vow to both you and Lord Theon. I will go with you, even if I think it's madness."

Arya just nodded her head to show her thanks. Now she would have to figure out how she was going to actually succeed in saving her sister. She had no doubt she would come up with something before they reached King's Landing, she had plenty of time to perfect some sort of plan.

"Olyvar, could you go downstairs and see if it's safe for us to come out." Theon said, his attention clearly on Arya. He was worried that she didn't seem to be processing the news of her mother's death.

Without a word, Olyvar nodded his head and moved to the door. Within seconds he left the two of them alone again.

"I'm sorry about Lady Catelyn." Theon said after a brief silence. Their hands were still joined together and he pulled her over to the bed so the could both sit down. Once he sat down, he tugged her hand so that she unceremoniously plopped down next to him.

"Thank you." She said quietly. "I know you're worried, but I really am okay."

"Your mother is dead, Little Wolf, it's okay to cry."

"I cried all my tears for her already," She explained. "I think I realized she was dead before Nymeria led you to me in those woods." She gave him a small, sad smile, "I know you worry for me, you don't have to. I'm not burying my feelings away, I feel her loss, I've just already started working my way through it. And I know I have to focus on the living. It's one of the reasons I have to go after Sansa. My Mother would have done anything to protect her children. She tried to save Sansa when she let Jaime Lannister go. It obviously didn't work, so I have to focus finishing what she started."

Theon let a soft chuckle escape his lips. "You think Lady Stark would have wanted you to risk your life?"

"No," Arya admitted. "She would probably think me reckless."

"Her and I would have agreed on something." Theon said.

"You're being just as reckless," Arya pointed out, "you're following me."

He chuckled a little at that, she did have a point. But he said nothing in return, instead he just let them fall into a quiet stillness, both of them lost in thoughts of their own. It was a quieter way of grieving he supposed. She had cried for her family, he had even held her while she sobbed. But it seemed so much calmer then what he would have expected from someone who had lost so much in such a short time. It was then that it occurred to him, that their grief was the same. That the only way the were coping as well as they were was because they were keeping each other strong.

"I just realized something," Arya said, pulling Theon from his thoughts. "My mother saved me that night. She realized that awful Elmar Frey was going to try and come talk to me again. She sent me out to get some air before he managed to corner me. It's why I left the Keep. I needed to get away from all those people." She allowed a small sad smile to touch her lips. "The last thing my mother did for me was save my life."

Theon let out a little chuckle, "I suppose that means she saved my life too. I left because she wanted to have a private word with you. I didn't like being around all those people either."

"She regretted that we couldn't be together." Arya told him suddenly. "For awhile she was worried about how much time we spent together. I overheard her talking to my father once, but for some reason she changed her mind. I think if things had been different, she might have approved a marriage between us." They were quiet for a moment, they both realized that thinking about what might have been was a dangerous idea.

Instead Arya brought up something else that had been on her mind. "I think I forgave my mother for helping make that deal with Walder Frey. I hope she knew that."

"I'm sure she did." Theon reassured her.

"What about Robb, did you forgive him?" She asked Theon quietly.

"Not before he died," Theon said regretfully. "Not fully."

"I didn't either." She agreed. "But that doesn't mean I didn't love him."

"Aye, I loved him too."

"Do you think he knew that?" She asked.

"I'm sure he did."

—

Fifteen minutes later, Olyvar had come up to tell them that it seemed safe for them to come down. They made their leave of the inn in haste. They didn't even take a moment to break their fast, instead the innkeeper offered them a small pack that he had stocked with food and some extra bandages. It wasn't much, and the innkeeper had told them that he and wished he could offer more, but it was all he could afford. Arya had been taken aback by his generosity, she hadn't expected any more kindness from the man and was genuine when she offered her thanks. She couldn't help but wonder if Olyvar had been correct in assuming that the man knew who they were and that was why he had been so helpful. The man must have held a strong love for her mother's family, but then again, when the three of them had parted, he had said he would prey to the Seven for their safety. He might just have been being charitable. Arya supposed she would never know.

For the first two days of their journey Olyvar kept them off the beaten paths. That way they were able to duck the patrols that had been sent out from the Twins, but it cost them a lot of time and effort. They weren't as far away from the Twins as they would have liked. It made all three of them on edge, knowing that they were still so close to the enemy.

On the third day, their fears of running into a Frey patrol came to fruition. The trio had spotted them too late, they had been noticed by the men. If they had left the road to try and avoid them it would have looked suspicious. Nymeria, thankfully kept out of sight and knew not to show herself should there be other humans around. They had no choice but to continue to walk toward the men. Arya felt every muscle in her body tense, this was a situation that they had hoped they could avoid.

The men seemed to be relaxed, as they were obviously stopped for their midday meal, a couple of them sat around a small cook fire. The other three were casually standing around obviously trading stories and jokes while they waited for their food. The only evidence that they were from the Twins were the weapons and shields they carried. It was a smaller patrol, only five men. Olyvar speculated that his father was spreading his men thin in order to cover more ground. Arya and Theon eluding capture must have been frustrating for him. As they neared the men, Olyvar worried that there might be someone he knew among the men.

They had been few yards away when one of the men, obviously the leader, called out to them in what he probably thought was a friendly manner. "Hello there." He held a hand up to show that he wished them to stop where they were. They did as they were bid, then he walked over to meet them.

Olyvar was relieved to see that he did not recognize the man. "Afternoon." He said carefully, it had been decided that should they come across a situation such as this, that he would do most of the talking.

"What brings you three out on such a lonely road today?" The man asked curiously.

"My brother, his wife, and I," Olyvar motioned to Arya and Theon. "We're just tryin' to get to Fairmarket, we had a run of bad luck during the war and our farm was burned down. Thought we'd try to start over in a little bit of a larger town."

"Well, good luck with that." The patrolman seemed amused by the story. He cast a glance at Arya, he seemed to be studying her, comparing her to the description of the girl he was supposed to be looking for. With her old, worn clothing, messy braided hair, and general unkempt appearance, she must not have passed for a highborn lady, because the guard lost interest in her fairly quick. "You three wouldn't have happened to see any other travelers along the road. We're looking for a noble lord and lady, they might be traveling with an older man?"

"No, I can't say that we have." Olyvar answered easily.

Arya had seemed to lose interest in what the man and Olyvar were talking about when she heard one of the other men in the patrol say something loudly about the King In the North that had all the men near the fire laughing. She looked back to the leader. "What are they talking about over there?" Theon looked at her sharply, worried that she had opened her mouth and Olyvar looked nervously over at the other men. They had obviously not heard what the fireside conversation had been about.

The patrol's leader obviously didn't see anything as amiss. He craned his neck to look back at his men. "They've been discussing what happened at the wedding." He said the wedding as if everyone should know what he was talking about. Everyone probably did. He turned back to the three of them, "a few of them have a few tales they like to tell each other over and over."

"Like what?" Arya asked abruptly. She could feel Theon tense up next to her.

"You haven't heard the whole story?" The man asked in surprise.

"Only rumors." Olyvar spoke up, sensing that this might prove to be a sensitive topic for Arya and Theon. "We've been traveling so we haven't heard any details. But um… we shouldn't keep you from your meal. I'm sure we'll find out what happened soon enough." He cast Arya a pleading look.

Arya simply ignored it. "Were you there?"

"I was in the dining hall in the Twins. I saw what happened first hand." The man seemed proud by this fact, even killed a few of those Northern bastards, he said with a chuckle.

"What about Robb Stark, who had the honor of killing him?" Arya's voice was becoming strained, and Theon knew this would lead to nothing good. He moved to put a hand on her arm, hoping to get her attention so that they could get themselves away from the group before she did something stupid.

Apparently the man hadn't yet realized that Arya's whole demeanor had changed. That she was openly becoming hostile to him, because he just continued to talk about the wedding. "He was a tough one to kill. They had tried to shoot him down with crossbow bolts. He was riddled with arrows, but even after all that he managed to stand up. It took Roose Bolton himself to stab him in the heart with a dagger before he died. The Stark boy's mother tried to get Lord Frey to stop it, she even held a knife to his wife's throat." The man actually laughed as he continued. "Old Walder Frey didn't really care though, just said he would get a new one. Once she saw her son killed she went crazy, she cut the girl's throat. She didn't even notice when Black Walder came and slit her own. That's not even the best part-"

"This isn't proper conversation for a woman to hear. We really need to be-" tried Theon.

"No, I want to hear it." Arya interrupted. "Go on tell me what happened."

"They cut the Young Wolf's head off, went and sewed the boy's wolf's head on his body. Damned difficult thing to do, the wolf's head wouldn't stay on, it was too heavy-" The man didn't have a chance to continue.

One of the things Arya had going for her was her quick reflexes. She managed draw her sword and jabbed Needle's pointy end in the man's throat. For a brief moment all the man could do was look at her in surprise, his eyes seemed to be asking her who she was. "I'm Arya Stark of Winterfell." She hissed an introduction out at him as she pulled Needle from his throat. She watched him drop to the ground, struggling to breath.

It only took seconds for the other men to start to respond to Arya's actions. Theon cursed, but quickly readied his bow. Before he could even take aim at a target, Nymeria had already entered the fray and managed to attack one of the men that had been standing. Theon took aim at the other one, and let loose an arrow. He had hit his target with ease and an arrow protruded from the man's heart. But Theon's success hadn't come without a cost, the wound on his shoulder had been healing but the exertion of the fight seemed to have aggravated it. For a brief moment there had been a searing pain that made him wonder if he might have torn the cut open again. After the first flash of pain subsided there remained a deep dull ache and he worried that he wouldn't be able to take another decent shot.

Theon struggled to push through the pain, because he knew there were still two more men that had to be taken care of. The ones who had been seated by the fire were already on their feet, with swords drawn. One seemed to be advancing slowly on Arya. That was the one that Theon had chosen as his next target, but before he could even raise his bow again Arya had already moved forward to greet the man and Theon no longer had a clean shot. As their steel clashed, Theon realized that Arya, while she would be able to fend off the man's attacks for awhile, the more powerful man would eventually overcome her. Olyvar must have realized the same thing, because he had already taken matters into his own hands. He had retrieved a knife from the belt of the man Arya had first killed and dashed forward to help Arya. Theon kept his bow readied just in case an opportunity opened where he would be able let loose an arrow towards the man Olyvar and Arya were fighting, all the while wishing he had a weapon he could use at close range.

While all of that had been happening, the final man of the patrol had caught the attention of Nymeria, who had finished off her first victim. The man had stilled once he realized that the wolf was stalking him, clearly terrified that he was her next target. He looked like he wanted to try to make a run for it, he even seemed to be readying himself to do so, but Nymeria leaped upon him first, going instantly for his throat.

Everything seemed to be over within a matter of minutes. Just as Nymeria killed off the last man, Olyvar had managed to slip his stolen knife into the back of the man Arya and he had been fighting. And just like that everything had gone still. The three of them lowered their weapons and took a moment to look at the damage they had done all of them breathing a bit heavy from the exertion.

Olyvar was the first of them to speak once he brought his attention to Arya. "Now do you trust me enough to let me carry a weapon?"

"I suppose you could have your pick of what they were carrying." Arya said quietly, "they don't need them anymore." She seemed to be shaken by what had just happened, and had just come to the realization that she had caused it all by attacking that first man. She looked down at her at her bloodied Needle. She could saw that her hand was shaking.

Theon having not seen her face, was unaware of the turmoil she was going through, if he had he might have stopped himself from marching over to where she stood. He grabbed her arm and startled her enough that she dropped Needle to the ground. He turned her so that she could look at him. Anyone could see that he was angry. "Do you realize how stupid that was?"

She looked up at him dumbly for a moment, before she started to feel her own anger bubble up. "You're angry that I killed him? She asked him incredulously. "Didn't you hear the things he was saying about my mother…about Robb? Didn't you hear what they did to him? He was bragging about it!"

"I'm not angry that you killed him, Arya! I wanted to kill him, but I knew how risky it would have been." Theon countered. "I'm angry that you didn't think about what might have happened. They out numbered us and Olyvar and I were just as unprepared for what you did as those men were. I'm injured and Olyvar was unarmed, not to mention we didn't know if Nymeria was anywhere close enough to help us. You're lucky we came through this alive. I can't protect you if you continue to be so reckless."

Out of habit Arya wanted to be obstinate, to argue with Theon that she was right in what she had done. But she couldn't, because she knew he was right. Her rage at losing her mother and brother had gotten the better of her and she lashed out at the first person who admitted to being at the wedding. She tore her gaze from Theon and looked behind him to the man she had slain, then back up at Theon. "You're right." She said, her voice starting to shake as it started to sink in that she had nearly gotten them all killed. "I'm sorry."

Theon studied her expression, she genuinely did seem sorry and she was visibly shaken at the thought of what could have happened. He felt his anger start to recede, at least she had understood. He lifted his hand so that he gently held the back of her neck and he leaned down slightly so that he was on eye level with her. His voice was now calm and there was a pleading note to it. "Promise me you won't do that again, at least not without some sort of warning."

"I promise."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth he straightened up and encircled her waist with his other arm and pulled her tightly to him in a relieved hug. "Good. Now, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she managed to assure him.

"Good," Olyvar chose the moment he heard Arya say those words to break into their conversation. He had made an effort to busy himself inspecting the bodies the moment Theon first moved to confront Arya. But now that he had gathered a couple of weapons and the small amount of coin the men had on them he felt the urgent need to leave the area. Who knew when someone else would happen upon the scene. He wanted to be far away when that happened. "We should probably get off the road."

Arya pulled reluctantly away from Theon. She nodded her head to show that she understood and then picked up Needle off the ground. She looked down at the blood that was on the blade. A flash of guilt shot through her knowing that she had killed a man, but almost as quickly as that thought came, she brushed it aside. She couldn't allow herself to feel guilty about this, at least not right now. It was too important that she keep her head clear. She wiped the blood off of her sword as best she could on the leg of her already stained trousers and then returned Needle to her belt. She knew she would have to attend to the blade better, but at the moment she didn't really have the time. Then she looked at the two of them and simply said, "let's go."

With that said, Olyvar led them quickly and quietly away.


End file.
